Nigeria to review outdated Cooperative Act to meet international best practices

Sen. Sabi Abdullahi,the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, says the country will review its outdated Cooperative Act to meet global cooperatives best practices.

Abdullahi said this at a news briefing to mark the 2025 International Day of Cooperatives in Abuja on Saturday.

The Minister was represented by Omolara Svensson, his Special Assistant on Women and Youth Agricultural Innovation
He said the review was necessary to capture evolving trends in the system and facilitate effective cooperative businesses in the country.

Enumerating some of the achievements of the Federal Government toward repositioning cooperatives in the country, Abdullahi said they had taken a study and benchmarking mission to Kenya, Africa’s leading cooperative economy to draw lessons for local reform.

He said that under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP), the modern regulatory framework would also be established to promote professionalism and accountability in the sector.

According to him, this historic reform aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, positioning cooperatives as engines for rural development, food security, and inclusive economic growth.

Alhaji Idris Sani, the Federal Director of Cooperatives, said the day was aimed at publicising the achievements of cooperatives across the globe.

Sani said the day was also to sensitise the public on the relevance of the cooperative system to the development of nations.

According to him, the cooperative movement in Nigeria is vibrant particularly in the areas of food security, job creation, increased income to members as well as the general public, poverty reduction and entrepreneurship development.

”Cooperatives have the capacity to support government efforts in different areas and they are doing that to the best of their ability.

”They provide access road, donations to health centres, donations of educational materials to communities where they operate, so these are some of the social responsibilities of successful cooperatives across the globe,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel Atama, the Executive Secretary of CFAN, said that the cooperatives model had access to security and affordable loan rates for members
Atama said the theme of the day ‘Cooperative Build a better World’ was apt for the country in a collective efforts toward achieving inclusive growth and development.

The executive secretary said the day was a call for all to redouble efforts to use cooperative instrumentality to end poverty, hunger and deprivation and entrench an egalitarian access to affordable finance.

According to him, a good cooperative practice supported by good legal framework and policies solves the socio-economic challenges facing our country today.

This he said it does by mobilising citizens’ participation in democratic processes, put economic powers and collective aspirations in the hands of citizens.

Some member of the various cooperatives who attended the event appealed to the government to support the movement for effective economic development.

Our correspondent reports that the day is celebrated globally on the first Saturday of July to raise awareness on cooperatives and promote the movement’s successes in advancing social and economic development