…unveils reform blueprint as LASCOCO board gets new leadership
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Lagos State Government has charged the Lagos State Cooperative College (LASCOCO) with spearheading a statewide economic transformation through the empowerment of cooperatives, digitisation, and global partnerships.
Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, made this known during the formal inauguration of the LASCOCO Governing Council on Wednesday at the Ministry’s conference room in Alausa, Ikeja.
She described cooperative societies as “powerful instruments for grassroots development and societal upliftment,” stressing the need for LASCOCO to rise to its mandate with visionary leadership, innovation, and results-driven performance.
“LASCOCO is about empowering communities. Economic transformation is what you stand for. It all boils down to leadership. Vision is about the ‘what’ and the ‘why’, while mission is the ‘how’. And before you define the ‘how’, you must have clarity of purpose,” Ambrose-Medebem declared.
Drawing parallels with Kenya’s cooperative ecosystem, which she praised as a global reference point, the Commissioner advocated for international collaborations and digital integration to boost cooperative growth in Lagos.
“Kenya is an example of what a cooperative system should be. I don’t mind going there, inviting them here, or leveraging technology to bring them into our discussions,” she said.
Ambrose-Medebem announced that the Ministry had commenced the implementation of a transformative policy linking access to affordable finance with cooperative membership. She noted that this new initiative would scale up cooperative participation while driving enrollment at LASCOCO.
“This is a transformational project. It will expand your database exponentially and drive up enrolment in the college. So I’m preparing you for that growth,” she told the LASCOCO board members.
The Commissioner further emphasised the importance of digitisation to foster transparency, eliminate fraud, and increase accountability within the cooperative sector.
“We must digitise the cooperatives to drive accountability and eliminate fraud. But this cannot happen unless LASCOCO trains and prepares them for this transformation,” she added.
Addressing the newly inaugurated Governing Council, she charged the board to prioritise measurable outcomes and embrace international benchmarking in their strategic roadmap.
“At your next retreat, I want to see a roadmap that includes partnerships—especially with countries like Kenya—that can bring valuable cooperative experiences to Lagos,” Ambrose-Medebem instructed.
On his part, the Provost of LASCOCO, Mr. Akorede Ojomu, expressed gratitude to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for revitalising the institution, which he said was merely a dormant legal entity before the governor’s intervention.
“Although the law establishing the institution was passed in 2018, it remained inactive until Governor Sanwo-Olu gave it life through decisive action and continued support,” Ojomu remarked.
The Provost revealed that the college now has the capacity to produce at least 80 cooperative professionals annually. “We started small, but we now have the capacity to turn out no fewer than 80 well-trained professionals each year,” he stated.
Newly appointed LASCOCO Governing Council Chairman, Mr. Oyebowale Raji, pledged the board’s commitment to sweeping reforms, strategic partnerships, and technological advancement.
“The retreat will enable us to realign our objectives with current economic and educational realities,” Raji said, affirming that the council would focus on expanding cooperative education, strengthening community engagement, and driving research-led policy development.
“We will deepen community engagement, strengthen research, and build both local and global partnerships to broaden the college’s exposure and impact,” he added.