Our Correspondent
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Aliyu Abdullahi, says President Bola Tinubu’s administration is very passionate about the cooperative sector.
To this end, a lot of reforms are in place to revitalize the sector for better and more profitable cooperative engagements, devoid of fraudulent practices and fake cooperators.
The Minister disclosed this while declaring open a 2-day national training for Trustees, Executive Committees and Cooperative Managers from the 11 states of the Southeast and South-south geo-political zones of the country.
The event which took place at the Federal Cooperative College Oji River, Enugu State, afforded participants ample time to interface with the Minister and suggest viable solutions to perennial problems associated with the growth and advancement of cooperatives in Nigeria.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister of State, Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Abdullahi, regretted the long neglect the cooperative industry has suffered, but assured stakeholders that President Tinubu is turning things around with a reform and revitalization programme for the sector.
According to him, the federal government also wants to use the cooperative sector to mobilize capital and human resources for food security to fight poverty and to ensure that there is shared prosperity.
The Provost and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Cooperative College Oji River Dr. Ejikeme Obidiegwu, in his welcome address, was happy that the college was the first to host such a high-profile technical session in the country.
Obidiegwu was also optimistic that the engagement would achieve its aim which would be beneficial to cooperative movements in the country.
For him, the renewed hope cooperative reform and revamp programme of the federal government will help enhance the capacities of cooperative providers and managers to drive growth and development within the sector.
The Provost anticipated a sustained partnership and support from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. “I hope that during the college 50th anniversary and convocation ceremony, the Honourable Minister will grace the occasion to witness the giant strides the school has made”.
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of Oji River Local Government Area, Mr. Greg Anyaegbudike, described cooperatives as veritable means of sustainable livelihoods, and called for reforms to regulate its practices to be able to achieve the purpose for its establishment.
“I advise you cooperators here to maintain the highest level of professionalism in your cooperative endeavours while urging governments, corporate bodies as well as private sector individuals to support cooperatives through access to funds and other forms of assistance”.
Participants from across 11 states of South-East and South-South regions attested to the efforts of the present administration to improve the cooperative sector of the country, while hoping for sustenance.
Apart from addressing the concerns of the participants, the capacity building workshop also offered renewed hope to the cooperators, who lauded the high-powered strategic engagement with the federal government, which they confessed was holding for the very first time.
