The Federal Government is set to revolutionize cooperative societies through digitalization, with the aim of modernizing operations, ensuring transparent financial reporting, maintaining accurate records and improving governance in more than 30,000 registered cooperatives.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, who announced this initiative in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting on the Review of the Nigerian Cooperative Societies Act, Cap N98 LFN 2004, highlighted that digitalization would bring efficiency, integrity, inclusivity and sustainable growth to the sector.
“Digitalization will strengthen cooperative institutions, increase trust, improve service delivery, reduce fraud and unlock new opportunities across the cooperative economy,” Abdullahi said.
He revealed that cooperatives would become a vital instrument in achieving capital mobilization, inclusive growth and shared wealth creation when properly structured and supported.
As the driver of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Modernization Program (RH-CRRP), Abdullahi emphasized that the program aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of mobilizing all sectors of the economy towards building a trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
The minister described the RH-CRRP as a bold and transformative national framework designed to position cooperatives as a tool for community wealth creation, poverty eradication and inclusive growth.
He noted that key areas of focus include digital registration, national cooperative database, digital member identification system, electronic documentation, cooperative society administration, presentations and reporting.
Abdullahi maintained that “cooperatives should no longer be treated as a secondary activity. They are strategic institutions capable of mobilizing capital, empowering citizens, creating jobs, boosting agricultural productivity and strengthening the national economy.”
He acknowledged the efforts of CFN and International IDEA, but emphasized that by mandate and structure, this initiative should be led by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), the supervisory Ministry responsible for cooperative development in Nigeria.
He revealed that “the Ministry has set a date for a broader harmonization process, consolidating the revised results of the Stakeholder Meeting and the Ministry’s parallel work into a final national document.”
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According to him: “This document will be aligned with the International Cooperative Alliance – African Model Cooperative Law and the African Ministerial Declaration and Plan of Action, which Nigeria signed along with other African Ministers in Kenya during the 14th African Ministerial Cooperative Conference (AMCCO) in October 2025.”
Additionally, he revealed that IDEA will join the Coalition of the Willing (CoW), a group of credible partners supporting the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Modernization Program (RH-CRRP).
He praised the efforts of critical stakeholders and the Federal Department of Cooperatives.
In her speech, the President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), Mrs. Hannatu Mershak, stated that “digitalization is not just about innovation for innovation’s sake. It is for efficiency, integrity, inclusion and sustainable growth.”
He added that the initiative would strengthen cooperative institutions, increase trust, improve service delivery, reduce fraud and unlock new opportunities across the cooperative ecosystem.
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