The lawmaker representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency, Hon. Fred Agbedi, has urged Bayelsans to embrace cooperative societies.
Agbedi made the call at an event organised by the Alliance of South-South States Cooperatives Financing Agencies of Nigeria (ASSSCOFAN) held in Yenagoa.
“This is a very good programme, as a cooperator myself and a legislator who had carried out a lot of cooperative empowerment programmes of the Federal Constituency, and having been invited as Chairman of the event, I observe that cooperative is one that both government and individuals need to pay attention to and encourage”, Agbedi said.
“On the side of government is more of regulation, if we regulate this societies well, it will generate a lot of money that will help the people across the board, particularly for those who later have come to understand the beauty of cooperative and then understanding that you can use it to make out a living for yourself”, he added.
The National Assembly member called on the South/South zone to take cooperatives seriously, harping that cooperatives were a good sources of livelihood, stemming from the fact that one can generate income through it.
“Cooperatives are a collaborative businesses, and you would succeed more when your business was a patternship”, he noted.
In his speech, the president ASSSCOFAN, Orduve Joel, said cooperative is the driving force of most countries economy,saying that it should be encouraged in the geopolitical zone,and Nigeria in general.
“I make bold to say that I have travelled 16 countries of the world not for academics but for cooperative and I saw that cooperative is the driving force in SMEs loans in reducing poverty in working closely to the poor masses.
“Cooperative is everywhere, just as our slogan goes. In fact, we are even more financially equipped more than the banks, but in the South/South and in Nigeria,the reverse is the case.
“So having gone out, I felt the need to repackage and bring innovation to what I have seen outside. This I thought was to ensure that its established here because, if it is done, I bet you, things like youth restiveness will be a thing of the past”, the monarch noted.
Prof. Tatfeng Mirabeau who spoke on the theme: “Repositioning Financial Cooperatives (ASSCOS) for better performance in the Post Covid-19 Era” however, explained that there is need for transparent leadership in the cooperative businesses.
“The leadership features I mentioned should be adhered to for the benefit of the cooperative and the society at Large”, he said.

By: AriweraIbibo-Howells,Yenagoa