The Federal Government says it is mobilising about N200 billion in share capital from cooperative societies across Nigeria to support the take-off of the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, disclosed this on Thursday during the North-West Zonal Engagement of the Ministerial Advocacy Tour on Cooperative Bank of Nigeria Share Capital Mobilisation and Cooperative Sector Digitalisation Drive in Kaduna.
According to him, the initiative is designed to create a cooperative-owned financial institution that will expand access to credit and financial services for millions of cooperative members across the country.
The capital mobilisation effort is being backed by a nationwide digitalisation programme aimed at improving transparency, governance, and accountability within the cooperative ecosystem.
As part of the reforms, the government has introduced the National Cooperative Digital Architecture Platform (NCDAP), which will serve as a central database for all registered cooperative societies and members.
The platform will assign unique identifiers to both organisations and individuals:
- Cooperative Verification Numbers (CVNs) for registered societies
- Cooperative Member Identification Numbers (CoopID) for individual members
Abdullahi said the system is expected to strengthen oversight, reduce fraud, and improve access to government-backed financial interventions.
“The CVN will strengthen regulation, eliminate ghost cooperatives, improve transparency and facilitate access to structured financial and government interventions,” he said.
He added that the CoopID system will enhance identity management, accountability, and financial inclusion across the sector.
The minister explained that the digital platform will be integrated with national identity systems and supported by a cooperative credit reporting framework. This, he said, would improve trust in the system and reduce lending risks.
The reforms, according to him, are also expected to lay a stronger foundation for the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
Stakeholders at the event expressed support for the plan.
Representing Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, Commissioner for Agriculture Murtala Dabo said technology-driven cooperatives could boost agricultural productivity, deepen financial inclusion, and stimulate rural economic growth. He noted that Kaduna has already used digital platforms to open over 2.5 million accounts for financially excluded residents and enrolled more than 100,000 smallholder farmers into crop insurance schemes.
President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, Mrs. Hannatu Mershak, said the digitalisation drive would improve record-keeping, transparency, and public confidence in cooperatives.
Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna, Dr. Mohammed Awwal, also pledged institutional support through training and capacity-building programmes.
