Lagos Cooperative Societies Invest N40bn

The Lagos State Cooperative Societies have invested over N40 billion in economic enterprises in the state, says the Permanent Secretary, Lagos Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Dr. Yakub Basorun.

He disclosed this while speaking on the highlights of a week-long events to mark the 2011 International Cooperative Day in Lagos, southwest Nigeria.

Basorun said the enterprises of the cooperatives which served as catalyst for the development of the state’s economy include farming, fishing, trading, processing, transportation, housing, artisan activities and public service.

“The contribution of the cooperative movement to the economy of the state is immense. The worth of the cooperatives in Lagos State is in excess of N40 billion. We have over 12,000 registered cooperative societies. The average turnover of each of the society is worth over N1 million. Ours is to facilitate, they make the contribution within themselves.

“It is a sizeable chunk of the economy of the state with the membership of over 18 million. These are adults who pay taxes regularly, and contribute to the society in many ways. They employ people in various enterprises; they are owners of houses, transportation services, such as Bus Rapid Transit, BRT and taxi cabs, among others. In Lagos, we have over one million houses and the houses are owned by co-operators.

“The people, who are major stakeholders in the economy of the state, build those houses through loan from cooperative societies,” he said.

On the World Cooperative Societies Day, the permanent secretary ststed that the theme is Youth: the Future of Cooperative Enterprise. He said it was aimed at inculcating in the youths, core cooperative values for their empowerment for employment generation and real contributions to national economy through opportunities facilitated by the movement.

The celebration, being coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives in collaboration with Lagos State Cooperative Federation Limited (LASCOFED) is to hold from tomorrow to 2 July, 2011.

Basorun stated that as part of the activities to mark the celebration, the cooperatives would launch a Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, mega filling station in Mowe, Lagos-Ogun boundary and also launch the cooperative directory to assist members of the cooperative societies to connect with one another without leaving the comfort of their offices.