The initiative was launched on Monday in Lagos during the South-West zonal engagement of the ministerial advocacy tour led by the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi.
Speaking at the event held at the LASCOFED Multipurpose Hall in Ikeja, Abdullahi said the programme is part of the federal government’s efforts to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, food security, job creation and poverty reduction, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the minister, the engagement marks the formal commencement of two major initiatives under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP) 2025–2030, approved at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs in March 2026.
He explained that the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is designed to provide affordable and accessible financial services to cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, small and medium-scale enterprises, youth, women and persons with special needs.
Abdullahi said the bank’s ownership structure would preserve cooperative control, with 65 per cent controlling equity reserved for cooperative societies, unions, federations and individual cooperators, while 30 per cent would be available to private institutional investors and development finance institutions. The remaining five per cent would be reserved for employees of the bank and affiliated cooperative enterprises.
He stressed that the project is government-enabled but not government-funded, noting that no Treasury Single Account funds would be used for the initiative, while the ministry would only provide policy support, stakeholder coordination and regulatory facilitation.
The minister also announced the introduction of two digital identity systems for the cooperative sector — the Cooperative Verification Number (CVN) for registered cooperative societies and the Cooperative Members Identification Number (CoopID) for individual members nationwide.
He said both systems would be integrated with Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission architecture through the National Identity Number to improve data accuracy, eliminate fraudulent cooperatives and strengthen investor confidence.
Abdullahi outlined seven pillars of the RH-CRRP 2025–2030, including governance reforms, cooperative financing, digitalization, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youth and women, and strategic partnerships aimed at boosting the sector’s competitiveness.
He added that the Cooperative Bank would serve as the foundation for a broader investment ecosystem through the proposed Cooperative Trust and Investment Society of Nigeria, known as CoopTrust, with expansion into housing, transport, retail, agro-processing and digital platforms.
Also speaking, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, said cooperatives remain strategic institutions for economic development and should not be seen as outdated structures.
She emphasized the need for a coordinated national cooperative data system to generate reliable statistics on GDP growth, employment and agricultural productivity, while calling for stronger digital integration between cooperative registries, financial institutions and regulatory agencies.
Ambrose-Medebem also urged stronger governance structures and regular capacity-building for cooperative leaders in financial management, internal controls, digital bookkeeping and strategic planning.