Josiah Omole, the director of Cooperative and Rural Development at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has urged cooperative leaders in the FCT to eschew corruption and run their societies transparently in 2026.

Mr Omole gave the charge on Wednesday in Abuja at the maiden roundtable meeting with cooperative stakeholders in the FCT.

He advised cooperative leaders to make business decisions that would yield profits and protect the interests of members who contribute funds to the societies.

According to him, cooperatives are not sources of free money but platforms for collective investment and business growth.

“The way cooperatives are seen now, it looks as if there is a lot of corruption in the leadership.

“That is why I admonish them that we have to fight this corruption out of cooperatives. Members must ensure that the people they are selecting as leaders are transparent,” Mr Omole said.

He stressed that cooperative funds belong to members and must be used strictly for agreed business purposes.

“There is no free money in cooperatives. These are people’s contributions for business, and somebody cannot just come and sit tight on it.

“As leaders, you must make decisions that are favourable to members who are contributing to the purse,” he added.

Speaking earlier, Emmanuel Atama, the president of the Abuja Cooperative Federation, said the roundtable aimed to unify cooperative societies across the FCT.

Mr Atama, also executive secretary of the National Cooperative Financing Agency of Nigeria (CFAN), said global and national reforms in the cooperative sector made it necessary for the FCT to domesticate best practices.

He disclosed that the FCT authorities had adopted technology to regulate cooperatives, noting that registration, filing of returns, and monitoring and evaluation would now be done digitally.

Mr Atama said, “We are also reviewing the Cooperative Act and cooperative policy regarding what cooperatives should do and what they should expect from government and development partners.

“These are the issues we are thrashing out between today and tomorrow, and we are optimistic that the programme will achieve its purpose.”

He said the review of the Cooperative Act had become necessary to align cooperative businesses in Nigeria with global realities.

Also speaking, Angulu Kadiri, the president of the Police Service Commission Staff Cooperative Society Ltd., expressed optimism that the meeting would usher in improved cooperative operations in the FCT.

Similarly, Abubakar Haruna, president of LEA Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd., Bwari, said the resolutions from the meeting would strengthen cooperative activities in the territory.

(NAN)