BE FRONTLINE IMPLEMENTERS, NOT SPECTATORS: FG CHARGES 36 STATES ON COOPERATIVE DIGITAL ROLLOUT
The Federal Government has charged State Director of Cooperatives from the 36 States and FCT to lead the practical rollout of the National Cooperative Smart Registry, NCSR, describing them as “Frontline Implementers, not spectators” in Nigeria’s cooperative sector transformation.
Speaking during the National Technical Workshop on Cooperative Sector Digitalization organized by the Ministry in collaboration with its Technical Partner, Seam fix Limited on Tuesday 11th August,2026, in Abuja, Minister of State for Agriculture & Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Sen. Dr. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the workshop was convened to move from “Reform Conversations to Reform Implementation” under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform & Revamp Program, RH-CRRP 2030.
The Minister stated that the purpose of the workshop is to equip State Directors with the knowledge and tools to drive the digitalization agenda at state and community levels. “Distinguished Directors of Cooperatives, this is particularly why you are here. The Federal Government cannot successfully digitalize Nigeria’s cooperative sector from Abuja alone. Cooperative regulation and administration take place across our States and communities. You are therefore not spectators in this transformation; you Are Frontline Implementers,” he said.
Sen. Abdullahi urged them to understand the search, registration and validation workflow, how the Cooperative Verification Number, CVN, and Cooperative Member Identification Number, Coop ID, will be generated, and the responsibilities that will fall on State Cooperative Departments. “Ask questions. Challenge the process constructively. Seek clarification. Identify peculiarities within your States.
We are building a national infrastructure, and therefore it must work for every cooperative across the entire federation, “he charged.
The Minister explained that digitalization is designed to solve decades of identity and data gaps. “For too long we could not plan for cooperatives because we could not see them. We cannot effectively finance what we cannot identify. We cannot properly regulate what we cannot see. With NCSR, CVN and Coop ID, government, banks and development partners can now identify, verify, finance and regulate cooperatives with confidence,” he emphasized.
According to him, at the foundation of the transformation is the NCSR, which provides the infrastructure for cooperative search, registration, verification and digital governance. From the NCSR will emerge the CVN for cooperative organizations and Coop ID for members. Together, the NCSR, CVN and Coop ID will strengthen registration, identity verification, data management and regulatory oversight, while building trust, visibility and integrity within Nigeria’s cooperative ecosystem.
Sen. Abdullahi described cooperative sector digitalization as “not merely an ICT project, but an economic and institutional reform.” He warned that it “must not simply reproduce our existing manual inefficiencies on a computer screen.”
He added that it must improve transparency, strengthen accountability, make cooperative administration easier, provide reliable information for policy and planning, and ultimately deliver value to the ordinary cooperative member.
The Minister linked the digital infrastructure to the proposed Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, (Coop Bank), noting that the NCSR, CVN and Coop ID will provide the verified data and trust required for share subscription, credit profiling, risk management and sustainable operation.
He disclosed that the Bank will be “government-enabled, 7 cooperatively-owned, cooperatively-controlled and professionally managed,”_ and that share-subscription is targeted to commence by the end of October 2026, pursuant to resolutions of the 8th National Council on Cooperative Affairs.
The Minister also gave an update on the Ministerial Advocacy Tour, noting that the South-West, North-West and South-South zones have been covered. Visits to the North-Central, South-East and North-East will follow before the Coop Bank launch. He also revealed that tomorrow, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, (CFN), and technical partner Seam fix Limited will formally execute a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the framework for collaboration.
Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Minister stated that government is determined to build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, inclusive, transparent and accountable, and capable of contributing significantly to food security, financial inclusion, job creation and shared prosperity. He called on the Federal Department of Cooperatives, State Directors, CFN, Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria, (ICOPRON), Seam fix and all stakeholders to approach implementation as a shared national responsibility.
Concluding, Dr. Abdullahi declared: “A New Era for Nigeria’s Cooperatives is here”
In a welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Marcus Ogunbiyi revealed that ‘’ the digital infrastructure we are building today, starting with the CVN and Smart Registry, will serve as the primary strategy for transparently delivering input subsidies, credit interventions, and technical assistance directly to verified cooperators under the AGROW initiative’’.
Dr. Ogunbiyi stated that ‘’the RH-CRRP 2030 is designed to modernize our cooperative sector to boost financial inclusion, eliminate fraudulent actors, and unlock capital for smallholder producers across and cooperative generally across the country’’.
He urged participants to engage actively during the technical sessions and to ensure that the outcomes of the workshop translate into concrete actions at state and grassroots levels for the benefit of cooperative members.
In attendance were Directors of Cooperatives from the 36 States and FCT, members of the RH-CRRP 2030 National Steering Committee, leadership of CFN and ICOPRON, representatives of MDAs, relevant institutions, development partners and technology experts
The Highlight was a live demonstration of the platform by the technical partner, Seam fix Limited.
