Aliyu Abdullahi, the minister of state for agriculture and food security, has charged State Directors of Cooperatives across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to take ownership of the digital transition within Nigeria’s cooperative ecosystem, describing them as critical implementation drivers.
Speaking in Abuja at a National Technical Workshop on Cooperative Sector Digitalisation, the Minister stated that the initiative is designed to resolve decades of data and identity gaps that previously hindered effective government planning.
Abdullahi explained that the transformation rests upon the National Cooperative Search and Registration framework, which supports digital governance, cooperative searches, registrations, and verifications. This system will subsequently generate the Cooperative Verification Number for organisations and the Cooperative Identification Number for individual members.
The framework will enhance data management, transparency, and accountability while simplifying administration. Furthermore, the Minister linked the digital infrastructure to the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, noting that verified data will facilitate credit profiling, share subscriptions, and risk management.
Share subscriptions are scheduled to commence by the end of October 2026, following resolutions from the 8th National Council on Cooperative Affairs.
Marcus Ogunbiyi, permanent secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, revealed that the new digital architecture will serve as the primary strategy for delivering input subsidies, credit interventions, and technical assistance directly to verified cooperators under the AGROW initiative.
Ogunbiyi added that the Rural-Hosted Cooperative Revitalisation and Reform Programme 2030 aims to modernise the sector, boost financial inclusion, eliminate fraudulent actors, and unlock capital for smallholder producers nationwide.
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