The Federal Government says it is mobilising N200 billion in share capital from cooperative societies across the country to facilitate the take-off of the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Aliyu Abdullahi, on Thursday during the North-West Zonal Engagement of the Ministerial Advocacy Tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria Share Capital Mobilisation and Cooperative Sector Digitalisation Drive held in Kaduna.
The capital mobilisation exercise forms part of the government’s broader effort to establish a cooperative-owned financial institution capable of expanding access to credit and financial services for millions of cooperative members nationwide.
The initiative is being complemented by a nationwide digitalisation programme designed to improve governance, transparency and accountability within the cooperative sector.
What they are saying
Abdullahi said the government had unveiled the National Cooperative Digital Architecture Platform (NCDAP), which will create a unified database of registered cooperative societies and members while introducing unique identification systems for both organisations and individual cooperators.
According to him, the platform will issue Cooperative Verification Numbers (CVNs) to registered societies as part of efforts to strengthen oversight and improve access to government-backed financial support.
- “The CVN will strengthen regulation, eliminate ghost cooperatives, improve transparency and facilitate access to structured financial and government interventions.”
The minister added that individual cooperative members would also be assigned a Cooperative Member Identification Number (CoopID) to improve identity management and financial inclusion.
- “Every registered cooperator will also receive a CoopID to support identity management, accountability, access to financing and participation in the digital economy.”
He further explained that the digital platform would be linked to national identity systems and supported by a cooperative credit reporting framework aimed at improving trust and reducing lending risks across the sector.
More insights
Abdullahi said the digitalisation programme would play a critical role in strengthening governance standards and enhancing the credibility of cooperative institutions, laying a solid foundation for the long-term sustainability of the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria.
Other stakeholders also expressed support for the initiative.
Representing Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Murtala Dabo, said technology-driven cooperatives could accelerate agricultural productivity, deepen financial inclusion and drive rural economic development. He noted that Kaduna had already leveraged digital platforms to open more than 2.5 million accounts for financially excluded residents and enrol over 100,000 smallholder farmers into crop insurance schemes.
Similarly, President of the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, Mrs. Hannatu Mershak, said the digitalisation drive would enhance record-keeping, transparency and public confidence in cooperative institutions.
The Provost of the Federal Cooperative College, Kaduna, Dr. Mohammed Awwal, also reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to supporting the ongoing reforms through training, research and capacity-building initiatives.
What you should know
The latest engagement forms part of a nationwide advocacy campaign launched by the Federal Government in May to mobilise support for the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria Share Capital Mobilisation and Cooperative Sector Digitalisation Drive.
- At the South-West Zonal Engagement held earlier this year, Abdullahi outlined the ownership structure for the proposed bank, saying lessons had been learnt from previous cooperative banking models that lost their cooperative identity over time.
- Under the proposed structure, 65% of the bank’s equity will be reserved for cooperative societies, unions, federations and individual cooperators, ensuring that the institution remains under cooperative control. Another 30% will be open to private institutional investors, development finance institutions and qualified individuals, while the remaining 5% will be allocated to employees of the bank and affiliated cooperative enterprises.
- The initiative also aligns with the Federal Government’s broader push to improve access to affordable financing for agriculture and rural enterprises.
In March, the Federal Government approved a N250 billion facility for the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) to provide single-digit interest loans to smallholder farmers across the country.
The move came months after the BOA secured a $1 billion intervention fund in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in September 2025 to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural value chain.
