The Federal Government has formally launched the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP), unveiling a major restructuring plan aimed at transforming Nigeria’s cooperative sector through digitalisation, financial reforms, and the proposed establishment of a member-owned Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
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The programme was officially flagged off on Monday in Lagos during a ministerial advocacy tour on cooperative bank share capital mobilisation and cooperative sector digitalisation led by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister for Cooperative Services, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.
The reform initiative is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and is designed to modernise Nigeria’s cooperative ecosystem, which government officials say has suffered for years from weak governance systems, outdated operations, poor transparency, and financial irregularities.
Speaking at the event, Abdullahi said the Federal Government spent more than one year consulting stakeholders across the country before unveiling the reform framework.
“We are dealing with a reform of the cooperative sector. We have named it the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” the minister said.
A major pillar of the reform programme is the creation of a nationwide digital identity architecture for cooperative societies and their members.
Under the initiative, every registered cooperative society in Nigeria will receive a Cooperative Verification Number (CVN), while individual members will be assigned digital Cooperative IDs linked to the national identity database.
According to Abdullahi, the digital system is expected to improve accountability within the sector, reduce fraud, strengthen record keeping, and simplify access to cooperative-related financial services.
The minister explained that the government is also integrating cooperative societies into Nigeria’s credit reporting ecosystem to prevent loan defaults and multiple borrowing across societies.
“If you take credit from one cooperative society and want to run to another, it’s no longer going to work because your credit history will already be visible,” he stated.
Industry stakeholders at the event described the move as one of the most ambitious attempts in recent years to formally structure Nigeria’s largely informal cooperative economy.
The Federal Government also used the occasion to unveil plans for the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, which officials said would operate as a fully member-owned financial institution funded and controlled by cooperative societies and their members.
Abdullahi stressed that the Federal Government would not own the bank or inject public funds into it.
“This is not going to be government-owned. Government will not put a penny there, but we will facilitate and support the process,” he said.
According to him, the model is inspired by Kenya’s cooperative banking structure, where cooperative institutions play a major role in expanding grassroots financing and economic participation.
The minister noted that the proposed bank would help bridge financing gaps for cooperatives, small businesses, rural farmers, and underserved entrepreneurs who often struggle to access conventional bank loans.
Beyond financing, the RH-CRRP also seeks to professionalise cooperative administration across Nigeria.
Abdullahi disclosed that cooperative practitioners would now undergo certification processes supervised by the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria as part of efforts to strengthen governance standards and improve sector credibility.
He further revealed that the Federal Government is currently reviewing Nigeria’s cooperative laws with plans to introduce a new Cooperative Societies Act aligned with global standards set by the International Cooperative Alliance.
The reforms are also expected to place cooperative institutions under stronger financial oversight and regulatory supervision, including compliance requirements monitored in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The minister linked the reform agenda to broader national economic and security concerns, arguing that a stronger cooperative system could help reduce poverty, unemployment, and insecurity.
“Most of the time, where you see insecurity, it’s as a result of poverty. If the cooperative sector works and people can see avenues through which they can make their livelihood, would they want to go into crime?” Abdullahi asked.
Officials at the event repeatedly highlighted the role cooperatives could play in commercial agriculture, rural development, financial inclusion, and grassroots wealth creation if properly structured and digitally managed.
In her remarks, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, described cooperatives as critical economic institutions capable of supporting Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
She said the future of the sector depends heavily on digital transformation, professional management systems, and improved access to financing.
According to her, Lagos State has already intensified efforts to digitise cooperative administration through electronic registration platforms, digital documentation systems, and technology-driven monitoring structures aimed at improving efficiency and transparency.
Ambrose-Medebem also disclosed that Lagos State plans to expand financing opportunities for cooperative-based Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through the Lagos State Bank of Industry Access to Finance Scheme for MSMEs, popularly known as LASMECO.
Under the scheme, qualified MSMEs can access loans of up to N10 million at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent, with repayment periods of up to two years and a six-month moratorium without collateral requirements.
The commissioner explained that the financing structure relies heavily on the accountability system within cooperative societies to strengthen loan repayment performance and improve access to capital for grassroots entrepreneurs.
“We firmly believe the future of cooperatives lies in smart governance systems powered by innovation, automation, and digital inclusion,” she said.
She also stressed the importance of building a coordinated national cooperative data architecture that would improve planning, monitoring, financing, and policy implementation across the federation.
Also speaking during the event, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Cooperative Federation, Mrs Ebun Akinfalaye, urged cooperators across the country to support the proposed Cooperative Bank initiative.
She recalled the collapse of the former Cooperative Bank and described the new proposal as an opportunity to rebuild trust and confidence in cooperative finance in Nigeria.
“We are giants of Africa without a cooperative bank,” Akinfalaye said.
“It is going to be our bank, manned by us, managed by us, and interest rates will be determined by us.”
