The President of Cooperative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), Mr. Tajudeen Adeola, on Wednesday said that the proposed Cooperative Bank would commence operations by January next year based on arrangements made so far to actualise the dream.
Adeola, who gave this hint in Abuja at the 4th National Cooperative Summit, said that the initiative to operationalise the new bank was in line with the aspirations of the Federation members.
According to him, when established the proposed bank will primarily focus on the needs of its members who are mainly commodity merchants, farmers and others doing engaging in trading and other related economic activities.
He clarified further: “The consultant on this project is in our midst; we hope to come up with affirmative actions on how to raise the sum of N3 billion required as the Cooperative Movement’s share capital in the proposed bank. All things being equal, our bank is expected to start business come January 1, 2019.”
Adeola explained that the cooperative was contributing over N150 billion to the Lagos State government’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly based on its strategic role in the state’s economy.
The CFN leader maintained that if proper legislation was put in place to drive operations of cooperatives in the country, they have the potential of contributing over 20 percent to the nation’s GDP.
It would recalled that the former Cooperative Bank of Nigeria could not sustain its operations due to the consolidation exercise embarked on by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2005 to ensure adequate capitalization and solvency of banks in the country.
