The Federal Government has launched a ₦200 billion share capital mobilization
campaign for the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising
Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi, said the bank was
designed under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp
Programme (RH-CRRP) and approved at the 8th Regular Meeting of the
National Council on Cooperative Affairs.
Abdullahi revealed that Ministry is targeting 10,000 cooperative societies across
the 36 states and FCT through a tiered mobilization plan: 1,000 societies at
₦21m – ₦50million, 3,000 at ₦16million – ₦20million, and 6,000 at ₦1million
– ₦15million”.
He also stated that “through this collective effort, we aim to mobilize
approximately ₦200 billion and establish a strong, sustainable, and nationally
owned cooperative financial institution capable of supporting agricultural
development, enterprise growth, financial inclusion, housing, transportation,
value-chain development, and wealth creation for millions of Nigerians,”
According to him, “this programme is not a government project imposed from
above. It is a movement-driven reform agenda that seeks to give life to
aspirations that cooperative stakeholders have expressed for decades,”
He added that “to ensure continuity beyond the current administration, the
Ministry has established an Inter-Ministerial Technical Committee for policy
coordination and a National Steering Committee with MDAs, apex cooperative
organizations, and development partners. The Federal Department of
Cooperatives has also assigned dedicated desk officers to each of the seven
strategic pillars of RH-CRRP”.
He added that “the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria will preserve
cooperative control and identity while attracting strategic investment. 65% of
equity will be owned by cooperative societies through the Cooperative Trust &
Investment Society of Nigeria (CoopTrust).
30% will be open to institutional investors, development finance institutions,
impact investors, and individual cooperators.
He explained that the Ministry is rolling out the National Cooperative Digital
Architecture Platform (NCDAP) to address data gaps. Key components include
the National Cooperative Smart Registry (NCSR), Cooperative Verification
Number (CVN) and CoopID, CoopCHECK Credit Bureau powered by
CreditRegistry.
“We cannot build a modern, globally competitive cooperative economy using
outdated analog systems,” Dr. Abdullahi added.