Lagos Assembly holds public hearing, legalize establishment of Cooperative College 

If the conclusion reached at A day stakeholders’ meeting on ‘A Bill for a Law to Establish the Lagos State Cooperative College and for Connected Matters’,held at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Assembly Complex,Alausa,Ikeja, is anything to go by then the cooperative college would now have the power to certify their products,once the afore stated bill is eventually signed into law.

The Deputy Speaker Hon. Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun representing the Speaker Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, enjoined all to contribute meaningfully to the bill.

Noting that, “the cooperative college has been in existence without a statute for its regulation and the cooperative college will now make available certified professionals”.

The Majority Leader of the House Hon. Sanni Agunbiade who gave the overview of the 59 paragraphed bill noted that the Trustees and Book keepers will be now be well equipped to take on their task effectively.

According to him,”the bill granted the college power to award Degrees, Diplomas, Certificates and other academic qualification.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce,Industry and Cooperatives Lagos State House of Assembly,Hon. Adekanye Oladele noted that the development though belated will make Lagos State to be at par with other southwest states having legally instituted cooperative colleges.

“The college is to afford cooperators and book keepers the opportunity of getting better trained ,hitherto we have had instances of frauds among cooperators, it is no news any longer but it is not in every situation that we had this kind of problems that we can trace it to  people having the mindset to defraud the cooperative bodies, sometimes that has been happening because they lack the  training that will enhance their knowledge and promote the economic interest of members of  such cooperators we cannot take that for granted apart from those who having the mind of defrauding the organization or Cooperative societies.

“There are some that are genuinely not armed and fortified with the needed training and experience,so this bill would afford people with  such good intentions ordinarily, but who are deficient of the necessary skills the needed skill.

Ultimately Lagos will be able to rub shoulders with their counterpart states in the southwest part of the country,we are the only state left behind others in terms of cooperative college that is certified in the whole of the southwestern state.

The President of Zero Interest Multipurpose Cooperative society Mr. Abdulwaheed Baruwa one of the contributors call for, “the inclusion of elements of Islamic Financial Mechanism in the mandates of schools curriculum and also afford training of personnel, who will be able to manage and supervise the Islamic Cooperatives,production of personnel with verse knowledge of the Sharia auditing,conforming with global trends of seeking alternative source of financing”.

He further asked for consideration of Islamic Cooperative Union representation in the governing board of the legalized Cooperative college.

The President of Lagos State Cooperative Federation Mr.  Opeyemi Ayeola,congratulates the government and state Assembly for the bill which seeks to legalize the existence of the cooperative college and  by extension strengthen further the already virile Cooperative society in the state.

He noted that,”In the shortest period of time we shall be back here to talk of a University of Cooperative instead of a college”.