By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Monsur Olowoopejo
Inspite of the ongoing recession in Nigeria, the collective capital base of the Lagos State Cooperative Societies had increased to N100 billion with a membership base increasing to two million.
Meantime, to protect the cooperatives assets, the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has appointed a consortium of seven insurance companies to mitigate liabilities or losses that the cooperative societies in the state might incur.
The Special Adviser on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr. Benjamin Olabinjo and President of Lagos State Cooperative Federation, LASCOFED, Mr. Oriyomi Ayeola, disclosed the appointments and cooperatives assets in Alausa, Ikeja yesterday, during a chat on the highlights of the 2017 International Day of Cooperative Societies.
Olabinjo listed members of the consortium to include: STACO Insurance Plc, Industrial and General Insurance Company Plc, UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Ltd and Capital Express Assurance Limited.
Other members of the consortium listed by the special adviser were: AIICO Insurance Plc, Arm Life Plc and Cornerstone Insurance Plc, the special adviser noted that STACO Insurance Plc was the lead underwriter.
Olabinjo stressed that it had become a state policy to introduce the insurance programme that would be handled by a consortium of insurance companies.
He noted that the Ambode administration had initiated a state policy to mitigate losses that might occur from the operations of the stats’ cooperative societies, sudden death and accidents among others.
Olabinjo explained that the insurance programme became imperative to drive awareness among cooperative societies on the need to mitigate losses that might arise from their operations, death and accidents.
In an interview with newsmen, Ayeola disclosed that the cooperative societies were the only sector immune to the recession that affected the country.
According to him, “Our financial bases increase yearly and presently, we have in excess N100 billion assets, which has helped to boost Lagos State Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The cooperative sector is very unique because it has the strength to absorb unnecessary recession. And that is why I can inform you that this is the only sector that has not been affected by the recession.
“Our target is to get every adult in Lagos State into the cooperatives net because presently we have two million members in the state,” Ayeola added.
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