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Olabide Adaramola
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh has described the Lagos State Cooperative Federation Ltd. {LASCOFED} as one of the best and most viable federations in Nigeria, adding that its performance is good enough to serve as a model for others across the country to emulate.
He stated this in his goodwill message, while declaring open the Lagos State Cooperative Leaders’ Conference, with the theme: “Building & Developing Productive People”, held at Barcelona International Hotel, Wuse 2, Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory{FCT}
Chief Ogbeh, stated further that “in Nigeria today, as in other parts of Africa, there is the need for Cooperatives to convert its human faculty resources and ideas into actionable programmes and have them implemented to make meaningful impacts on the economy.
Represented at the occasion by the Director of Cooperatives in the ministry, Engr. Akintoye A. Akintola, the Minister also made an urgent appeal to all progressive Cooperatives across the country to set up a deliberate drive for the training of its members and cooperative professionals to ensure that the cooperative sector is pushed and guided to achieve a minimum of 30percent national Gross Domestic Product {GDP} by the year 2025.
He said the three days programmes which commenced last Thursday and rounded up on Saturday was particularly important because it was in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari- led administration’s efforts at addressing the problems in the cooperative sector.
He also charged the participants and the resource persons at the occasion that without effective and regular education and training (E&T), there can be no viable Cooperative Societies, adding that the prevalence of rancour and litigations nowadays in the Cooperative Sector was as a result of poor or lack of education in cooperative matters.
‘This has not only become a major threat to the quality of governance and adherence to established principles and laws but also adversely affects the viability of Cooperative Societies and its sectoral contribution to the National GDP.
“I congratulate the President, Cooperative Federation of Nigeria{CFN} who is also the President, Lagos State Cooperatives Federation Limited{ LASCOFED} Mr. Tajudeen Oriyomi Ayeola and the entire management committee of LASCOFED for deeming it necessary to organize this important retreat programme.”, Chief Audu Ogbeh declared .
Also in his keynote address at the occasion the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives , Mr. Olalekan Akodu assured that the state government will continue to provide an enabling environment needed to support the growth and development of Cooperatives in the State.
This, according to him, was in line with the vision of the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode to reinforce a private sector driven economy and ensure that the Organized Private Sector (OPS), which includes the Cooperative Societies, provides the dynamics for economic development and prosperity.
Accordingly, he said, “it is in light of this that the Lagos state government launched the Employment Trust Fund under the Lagos State Employability Scheme where the sum of N25Billion has been set aside for four years starting from 2016”.
Akodu , added that this was aimed at providing loans of between N250,000 to N5 million to residents that were into Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises at 5% interest, saying that total of 4,500 Small and Medium Enterprises have benefitted from a sum of N5billion from the Trust Fund,
He further highlighted that some of LASCOFED members were already benefitting individually from the Fund.
“Government also introduced the Cooperatives Welfare Insurance Scheme{CWIS} in order to cover losses associated with sudden death and incapacitation. It is our duty as government to ensure that the funds of cooperators must be immune from unexpected risks with reverberating consequences
“In addition, Cooperative Movements have been exposed to other investment opportunities within the Lekki Free Zone, Enterprise Zone and the Industrial Parks as a continued strategic framework of ensuring that the Movement takes advantage of economic projects for their members.
“Incidentally, there are societies with existing strategic capabilities and comparative advantages to execute some projects either alone or in collaboration with other societies”, Akodu maintained .
Meanwhile, in his welcome address, the President, LASCOFED , Mr. Tajudeen Oriyomi Ayeola disclosed that he, in conjunction with the management decided on the theme: Building& Developing Productive People as the focal point of deliberations at the training programmes organized by the organization and its affiliates in 2017 which is gradually coming to a close .
Ayeola, who doubles as the President, Cooperative Federation of Nigeria{CFN} stated further that the conference would consider this theme on the basis of two sub-themes such as developing Leadership competencies and Entrepreneurial concepts and development in a challenging economy .
The LASCOFED President, who could not hide his joy over his recent victory at the 5th Congress of Cooperative Federation of Nigeria , held in Minna , Niger State , where he emerged as the president of CFN the national apex of cooperative movement in the country, seized the occasion to express his appreciation to each and everyone present as well as all other cooperators that could not make it to the programme at Abuja over the weekend .
The victory, according to Ayeola is a collective one , just as he saw the assignment of leading the Cooperative Movement of Nigeria which he described as the most populous black nation as a joint responsibility of everyone of the members of CFN across the country.
He said, “I have no doubt, in my mind that with God and you on my sides{front and back} particularly with utmost gratitude to my immediate predecessor in office who is incidentally my Father and Mentor , Engr. Bala Jos, and others too numerous to mention their names, we shall succeed”.
He added that the Cooperative Leaders’ Conference held over the weekend in Abuja and tagged “Abuja 2017” was an attempt by his leadership at LASCOFED to continuously introduce programs and projects that will be of immense benefit to cooperators.
