Federal Govt Targets N200bn Capital Mobilisation For Proposed Cooperative Bank

The federal government has launched a N200 billion share capital mobilisation campaign for the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, a move aimed at expanding financial inclusion, supporting enterprise development and unlocking investment opportunities for millions of cooperative members across the country.

The initiative, being implemented under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP), was approved at the 8th regular meeting of the national council on cooperative affairs in Kaduna yesterday.

Minister of state for agriculture and food security and supervising minister of cooperative affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this during the North-West zonal engagement of the ministerial advocacy tour in Kaduna State.

Abdullahi said the ministry had developed a nationwide capital mobilisation strategy targeting 10,000 cooperative societies across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to provide the equity base for the proposed financial institution.

According to a statement issued by ministry’s head of information department, Ezeaja Ikemefuna, the ministry is targeting “10,000 cooperative societies across the 36 states and FCT through a tiered mobilisation plan of 1,000 societies at N21 million – N50 million, 3,000 at N16 million – N20 million, and 6,000 at N1 million- N15 million”.

He explained that the planned bank would serve as a cooperative-owned financial institution designed to provide credit, support agricultural productivity, stimulate enterprise growth and deepen economic participation across key sectors of the economy.

The minister stated that, “through this collective effort, we aim to mobilise approximately N200 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.

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.”

Abdullahi stressed that the reform programme represents a stakeholder-driven effort to reposition Nigeria’s cooperative sector as a major contributor to national economic development.

In his remarks, Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, represented by the commissioner for agriculture, Murtala Dabo, described cooperatives as critical institutions for grassroots economic development and wealth creation.

According to the governor, “the cooperative movement has historically played a vital role in Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

Across our communities, cooperatives have served as platforms for collective action, savings mobilisation, access to credit, enterprise development, agricultural production, and community empowerment. They have enabled ordinary citizens to pool resources, reduce risk, improve productivity, and create sustainable livelihoods.”

Earlier, president of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), Hannatu Mershak, said digitalisation would strengthen governance and enhance access to financing opportunities within the cooperative sector.

She noted that a digitised cooperative sector would lead to veritable records, easier access to markets and finance, as well as greater trust from government and development partners.