LAGOS – Mr Gbolahon Lawal, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives, on Tuesday said government has increased the the number of Cooperative Revalidation Area Offices to eradicate illegal cooperative societies in the state.
Gbolahon said this while on an inspection of the Lagos State Cooperative Federation (LASCOFED) secretariat under construction in Lagos.
He said that the revalidation exercise being conducted by the ministry to reconcile the figures of cooperative societies in the state would continue.
The commissioner tasked members of cooperative societies to pay the compulsory project fee of N200 for the completion of the federation’s secretariat.
He urged the state Director of Cooperatives, Mrs Olufunmilayo Ibraheem, to ensure a major improvement in the payment of the fee by 2015.
“We urged the cooperators to pay the N200 fee timely. By 2015 a report should be given showing a major improvement.
“If cooperators can pay this fee on time, it will hasten the project and make it realistic.
“This project is laudable and all cooperators must be part of it, the ministry will play an essential part of the project to see to its completion,” Gbolahon said. [eap_ad_1] Mr Oriyomi Ayeola, LASCOFED’s President, in his welcome address, said that cooperative societies contributed over N80 billion to the state’s economy.
Ayeola said that the federation presently had over two million members across the state.
He said that the secretariat would serve as an identity to cooperators in the state.
“We have never had a secretariat to identify with as cooperators so this will give us a sense of belonging as a body.
“The state ministry of agriculture has been supporting the federation but we want the timely remittance of the N200 levied on cooperators to the federation.
“With the figure of cooperatives at two million, we have been able to contribute N8 million instead of about N400 million,” Ayeola said.
He also appealed to the commissioner to consider assisting the federation in the rehabilitation of the road leading to the secretariat.
The visit was witnessed by cooperative societies of oil companies, financial sector, farmers among others. (NAN)
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