Osun State Governor Releases N700m to Empower Cooperative Societies, Fulfils Promise Made

Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to drive financial inclusion, noting that his administration is determined to financially empower grassroots traders in the state.

According to him, his administration in the first half of the year 2024 also released a sum of N700m to cooperative societies located across 332 wards in the state.

He said funds being disbursed to the local cooperatives are meant to support grassroots businesses and ensure financial inclusion for the vulnerable segments of the society.

Adeleke stated this while addressing the beneficiaries at separate events held in Ile-Ife and Ijebu Jesa, Osun state

A statement by the spokesperson to the governor, Olawale Rasheed, quoted Adeleke as saying further, ‘You would all recall that the first Osun State Cooperative Summit was held in January 2024. Part of the fallout of the summit was our government’s declaration that a sum of One Billion Naira would be released to the cooperative sector. My government is implementing that decision as can be attested to by stakeholders.

‘The cooperative sector in the state comprises the Federation of Osun State Cooperative Limited ( FOSCOOP) and the newly established Ward Based Cooperative societies. In effect, there are now a minimum of about 332 Ward-based cooperative societies in Osun State all of which have received about One Million Naira each.

‘To date, the amount of loans released to the Federation of Osun State Cooperative Limited (FOSCOOP) is about Seven Hundred Million Naira (N700.000,000) . The loan disbursement is being handled in batches. Our government had earlier signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Federation of Osun State Cooperative Limited. The MOU provides a strong framework for the sustainability of the loan scheme. We reaffirm our resolve to complete the loan disbursement and even expand the coverage shortly.

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