Stakeholders in cooperative movement urged to foster unity

Stakeholders in Cooperative Movement in Ogun State have been charged to foster unity and promote mutual working relationship amongst themselves in order to take the movement to an enviable position.

The State Commissioner for Community Development and Cooperatives, Hon. Gbenga Adenmosun gave this charge in Abeokuta while declaring open a one-day retreat for Zonal Officers and Staff of the State Cooperative Federation (OGSCOFED) and Board of Directors.

Adenmosun said cooperative societies contributed immensely to the economic growth and development of the country, noting that they should be handled with utmost sense of responsibility.

He said that the retreat would amongst other things curb conflicts and promotes transparency, adding that it would also ensure financial discipline among the users of cooperatives.

He appealed to the stakeholders to fashion out ways of checkmating the increasing rate of delinquent loan, financial misappropriation and outright fraud ravaging some cooperative societies across the State, saying that Government would clamp down on illegal societies and visit the full weight of the law on those found culpable in the act of misappropriation of funds.

“We are aware of the emergence of fake and illegal cooperative bodies penetrating the State due to high number of inactive registered societies and we would take necessary steps to deal with them”, Adenmosun said.

In his welcome address, the President Ogun State Cooperative Federation Limited (OGSCOFED), Alhaji Abdul-Rasaq Ola Balogun said the retreat became imperative to promote cordial relationship among cooperative movements and stakeholders in the State.

He said the theme of the Retreat, “Cooperation Among Cooperatives: Germane to Cooperative Growth and Development” was in line with the principles endorsed by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) which promotes co-existence among stakeholders in the cooperative movement.

Balogun implored stakeholders to embrace the routine training on cooperative laws and principles for proper enlightenment and education of member – societies.