Laleye Dipo in Minna
Workers in Niger State have used the opportunity of marking the International Day of Cooperatives to ask the state government to remit all cooperative deductions being held in the Ministry of Finance.
The President of the Niger State Cooperative Federation, Mr. Labaran Garba, lamented that the continued withholding of the deductions “is criminal” and “hampering the growth of cooperative societies in the state.”
Garba, in a speech at the event that was held at the main auditorium of the Teachers House in Minna, also appealed to the government to “resume third party deductions to enable cooperators in the civil service to have effective Plan B for their retirement.
He said: “Government should release all funds of various cooperative societies deductions withheld to sustain the cooperative societies’ existence in the state.”
He urged all cooperative societies in the state to affiliate to unions and apexes for the strengthening of cooperative structures, pointing out that the organisation should work as a team to explore other avenues of enhancing their capabilities towards a greater cooperative movement.
The State Head of Service, Mrs. Salamatu Abubakar, in a message to the event promised that the state government would continue to pursue and implement policies and programmes that would improve the welfare of workers and enable them to perform to their optimum best.
Abubakar also promised that government would continue to support all cooperative societies and enable them to meet the demands of their members.
She said: “We as a government that is interested in the welfare of its people shall continue to guarantee you complete support and cooperation of the office of the Head of Service in these your empowerment project.”
She expressed satisfaction that cooperative cocieties in the state have “continued to provide better investment opportunities for our workers, huge relief for government and less dependence on conventional financial institutions.”
