The federal government says it is mobilising N200 billion share capital from cooperative societies nationwide to facilitate the take-off of the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.

The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, stated this on Thursday in Kaduna at the North-West Zonal Engagement of the Ministerial Advocacy Tour on Cooperative Bank of Nigeria Share Capital Mobilisation and Cooperative Sector Digitalisation Drive.

Mr Abdullahi said the capital mobilisation initiative was being supported by a nationwide cooperative digitalisation programme aimed at strengthening governance, transparency and accountability in the sector.

According to him, the government has unveiled the National Cooperative Digital Architecture Platform (NCDAP) under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP).

He said the platform would create a National Cooperative Smart Registry to serve as a central database for registered cooperative societies and their members across the country.

The minister said the programme would introduce a cooperative verification number (CVN) for societies and a cooperative member identification number (CoopID) for individual cooperators.

“The CVN will strengthen regulation, eliminate ghost cooperatives, improve transparency and facilitate access to structured financial and government interventions.

“Every registered cooperator will also receive a CoopID to support identity management, accountability, access to financing and participation in the digital economy,” he said.

Mr Abdullahi said the digital platform would be linked to national identity systems and supported by a cooperative credit reporting framework to improve trust and reduce lending risks.

He noted that inadequate and fragmented data had remained a major obstacle to investment, planning and financial inclusion in the cooperative movement.

“The success of the digitalisation programme will improve governance, strengthen credibility and support the long-term sustainability of the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria,” he said.

Representing Governor Uba Sani, the Kaduna State Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Dabo, said technology-driven cooperatives would enhance agricultural productivity, financial inclusion and rural development.

Mr Dabo said Kaduna had opened more than 2.5 million accounts for previously excluded residents and enrolled over 100,000 smallholder farmers in crop insurance schemes through digital platforms.

Also speaking, President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, Hannatu Mershack, said digitalisation would improve record-keeping, transparency and confidence in co-operative institutions.

Earlier, the Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna, Mohammed Awwal, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to supporting cooperative reforms through training, research and capacity development. 

(NAN)