Nigeria’s federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria and tech company Seamfix for the deployment of Nigeria’s National Cooperative Identity.
This will be see new co-op legislation alongside a six-month national revalidation and re-certification exercise for all existing co-ops.
The MoU was signed on 12 August by the permanent secretary, Marcus Olaniyi Ogunbiyi, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Food Security, on the second day of the National Technical Workshop on Cooperative Sector Digitalization in Abuja.
Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi – minister for agriculture and food security and supervising minister of co-operative affairs – said the agreement marks “the beginning of a new era of visibility, trust, accountability and digital governance” for Nigeria’s co-operative ecosystem.
Under the revalidation exercise, all existing co-ops are to approach their respective state departments for verification and authentication of their registration records. Following successful revalidation, co-ops will be onboarded onto the National Cooperative Smart Registry, NCSR, and issued a Cooperative Verification Number, CVN, while their members will progressively receive the Cooperative Member Identification Number, CoopID.
Related: Why the world needs co-op law
The NCSR, CVN and CoopID together form the foundation of the National Cooperative Digital Architecture Platform, NCDAP, says a government release. Ministers hope the new system will close decades of identity and data gaps, and enable them to identify genuine co-operatives, track interventions, and measure impact.
“We should be able to know who receives government support, where they are located and what impact that support is making,” said Abdullahi.
A verified CVN will also serve as a trusted credential for co-ops looking to access government interventions, bank loans, contracts, and partnerships.
Abdullahi added that the platform will integrate with CoopCheck, a co-operative credit bureau, to improve credit profiling and lending.
Digital verification will strengthen compliance and enforcement of Section 54 of the Cooperative Societies Act against illegal use of the “co-operative” name, he said.
“Genuine co-operatives have nothing to fear from visibility and verification,” he said.
The minister has been leading the harmonisation of all ongoing reviews of the Nigerian Cooperative Societies Act, with the aim of creating a new law to recognise digital registration, electronic records, identity, data governance and financial technology.
He said his ministry will work with the Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly, the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, and other relevant stakeholders to deliver “a modern Cooperative Societies Act that supports a digital, inclusive and accountable co-operative economy”.
The reform, added Abdullahi, will provide clarity on registration, governance, reporting, supervision, audit and sanctions, and align with the national identity and financial system architecture. It will also enable interoperability with credit bureaus and fintech platforms while protecting members’ data and rights.
