Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, speaks at the 10th National Cooperative Summit, Exhibition and Awards organised by the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN) in Abuja on Tuesday
The Federal Government says it is implementing a national cooperative identity reform aimed at transforming Nigeria’s cooperative sector into a credible, transparent and bankable economic bloc.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the 10th National Cooperative Summit, Exhibition and Awards organised by the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN).
Abdullahi said the reform, being implemented under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP 2030), seeks to increase cooperative assets from the current estimated N1.7 trillion to N5 trillion within five years.
He said Nigeria has more than 370,000 registered cooperative societies with over 30 million members, but the sector’s potential remains largely untapped because of fragmentation, analogue administration and weak data systems.
The minister said the reform was built around seven pillars: legal and regulatory reform; digitalisation and data management; cooperative finance; capacity building; enterprise growth; socio-economic inclusion; and strategic partnerships.
He identified the National Cooperative Digital Architecture Platform (NCDAP) as a key component of the digitalisation drive.
According to him, the platform will provide a National Cooperative Societies Register, Cooperative Verifiable Number and CoopID, which will establish credible identities for cooperative societies, eliminate duplication and strengthen regulatory oversight.
Abdullahi said the Federal Government also plans to establish the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and develop a Savings and Credit Cooperatives model to improve access to appropriate financing for cooperative members.
He said the government would also ensure that the contribution of cooperatives is properly captured in the computation of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
The minister noted that cooperatives globally account for about three million societies, representing more than one billion members and providing employment to about 280 million people.
He said Africa’s cooperative sector was valued at about $30 billion, with Savings and Credit Cooperatives holding more than $16 billion in assets and serving about 40 million members.
Abdullahi said Nigeria must learn from countries such as Kenya, where regulated SACCO assets reached about 1.076 trillion Kenyan shillings, equivalent to about $8.3 billion, in 2024.
He said the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the CFN and SEAMFIX Limited, as technical implementing partners, was signed on August 12, 2026, with implementation already underway at no cost to federal or state governments.
The minister consequently tasked state directors of cooperatives with providing maximum support to the service providers to ensure seamless nationwide implementation of the reform.
He also urged financial institutions, investors, technology companies and development partners to explore opportunities in Nigeria’s cooperative sector.
Abdullahi said credible data on more than 30 million cooperative members would provide investors with an organised and de-risked market capable of supporting agricultural inputs, mechanisation, post-harvest handling, processing, storage and market access.
He said the cooperative sector could also help women and young people gain access to affordable finance, thereby contributing to food security, job creation and the country’s ambition of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The minister said the success of the cooperative sector would henceforth be measured not by the number of societies registered, but by the assets created, businesses established, jobs generated, farmers supported and livelihoods improved.
He also said the CFN had overcome longstanding internal challenges and divisions, describing the apex body as united and focused.
He called on state and sectoral cooperative federations to strengthen the national apex body.
The CFN President, Mrs Hannatu Mershak, said the cooperative movement could no longer afford fragmentation, urging members to strengthen cooperation, promote unity, transparency and accountability.
Mershak also called for greater adoption of technology and innovation, improved access to finance and investment in human capital.
She urged stakeholders to ensure that the summit produced concrete actions rather than ending with speeches and ceremonies.
“Let it end with renewed commitments, practical partnership and concrete actions,” she said.
