Lagos begins re-validation of cooperative societies

The Lagos State Government has begun revalidation of cooperative societies in the state to enhance administration and monitoring.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr Gbolahan Lawal, said at the flag-off of the exercise on Wednesday in Lagos that cooperative societies had contributed much to the development of the state.

“The Lagos State Government is committed to  creation of an enabling environment to aid growth and development of the cooperative movement.

“Hence, the choice of cooperatives as the vehicle for delivering various economic empowerment programmes in the state,” Lawal said.

The commissioner said that FADAMA, CADP, RUFIN and other projects recorded successes in the state a result of structured cooperative societies.
Lawal said that the revalidation would enable the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives to have up-to-date data on cooperative societies in the state.

“This will enhance proper identification, planning, proper administration and effective monitoring of cooperatives in the state,” he said.

Lawal also said that the revalidation would reduce mismanagement of funds.

He added that the exercise would afford the ministry the opportunity to assess the contributions of cooperative societies to the gross domestic product of the state.

Mr Oriyomi Aiyeola, President, Lagos State Cooperative Federation, expressed the hope that the exercise would sanitise cooperative societies.
Aiyeola said that inactive cooperatives would be identified and wiped out during the exercise.

Earlier in a welcome address, Dr Yakub Basorun, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, urged members of cooperative societies in the state to cooperate with the government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the re-validation will end on Dec. 11.

There are 20 cooperative areas in the state, while about 13,000 cooperative societies have been identified by the state’s Bureau of Statistics.

More than 1,000 members of cooperative societies attended the event.