Over 4,000 Aviation cooperative members benefited from loans in 2015.

More than 4,000 members of the airport fire cooperatives have benefited from various types of loans from the airport fire safety cooperatives in the last one year.

The president of the airport fire safety cooperatives, Mr Richard Tella in an interview with aviation correspondents in Lagos on the activities of the cooperatives in aviation industry in Nigeria in the last one year, said virtually every member numbering about 4,000 have benefited in different ways with 6% interest rate.

Mr Tella disclosed that the 6% interest loan was redeemable within a period of 15 months adding that it was a way of encouraging members of the cooperatives.

According to him, the harsh economic situation has forced Nigerians to make cooperatives as their last resort as it has become very cumbersome to get loans from the conventional banks.

Mr Tella said a mechanism has been put in place to checkmate the activities of loan defaulters as loans given out were deducted from source.

He expressed delight that the cooperatives has been able to assist members have their own houses at the cooperatives estates at OPIC and Iyana Iyesi in Ogun state, cars and businesses through the loan scheme.

“We bought new cars for members and two estates in Ogun State, we also have some block of flats at the police estate in Idimu in Lagos”

Tella explained that as part of expansion of its scope and to increase its revenue generation, the cooperatives was making frantic effort to acquire some plots of land within the airport for the construction of guest houses in Lagos and Abuja adding that it will be subsidised for members when operational.

He explained that the cooperatives which was formed in 1996 with five members with N50 contribution each by the members have risen to over 4,000 members and expressed the hope that members will get better service in 2016 by organising seminars for them on life after retirement.