The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security Senator Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, has announced Nigeria’s intention to review its outdated Cooperative Act to meet global cooperatives’ best practices.
Abdullahi announced this at a news briefing to mark the 2025 International Day of Cooperatives in Abuja on Saturday, a day 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.
The Minister, represented by his Special Assistant on Women and Youth Agricultural Innovation, Omolara Svensson, said the review was necessary to capture evolving trends and enable more effective cooperative businesses in the country.
Enumerating some of the Federal Government’s efforts to reposition cooperatives, Abdullahi said a study and benchmarking mission had been undertaken to Kenya, Africa’s leading cooperative economy, to draw lessons for local reform.
He added that, under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (RH-CRRP), a modern regulatory framework would 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.
Also speaking, Alhaji Idris Sani, the Federal Director of Cooperatives, said the International Day of Cooperatives aims to highlight the achievements of cooperatives across the world.
He noted that the day also serves to sensitise the public on the relevance of the cooperative system to national development.
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 roads, donations to health centres, and 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.
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Atama said the theme of the day ‘Cooperatives Build a Better World’ was apt for the country in a collective effort 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 to entrench egalitarian access to affordable finance.
According to him, a good cooperative practice supported by a 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 and putting economic power and collective aspirations in the hands of citizens.
Some members of various cooperatives who attended the event appealed to the government to support the movement for effective economic development.
