The non-governmental Organisation for Literacy Support Services (NOGLASS) has urged financial institutions to consider intensifying financial literacy for national development.
The group said this in Abuja on Tuesday at a one-day NOGLASS cooperative leadership Development Conference with the theme: “Building Leadership Capacity in Financial Literacy to Access Financial Products”.
Speaking at the conference, the NOGLASS President, Noah Emmanuel said that financial literacy was key to unveiling the potential of humans towards financial and economic development geared towards self-reliance.
According to him, economic and financial empowerment is the heartbeat of every nation, the economic transformation of many societies is often matched with the level of their financial educational development.
He said this was evident in their level of life expectancy vis-a-vis the per capita income.
“Strengthening the capacities of our cooperative leaders across the country remains one of the most fundamental mandates of NOGALSS Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd. which serves as part of her contribution in support of the federal government of Nigeria in executing the strategic financial inclusion.
” It is however evident that the federal government of Nigeria cannot accomplish all of this without the involvement and support of all relevant stakeholders.
” It is pertinent to note that NOGALSS Multipurpose Cooperative Society is operative across the states of the federation and the FCT and will use its support services for the attainment of the federal government policies on economic and financial empowerment,” he said.
On her part, Cooperative General Secretary, Madonna Corosi explained that the cooperative had made great strides towards reducing poverty and fostering economic growth through its packages of wealth creation and economic and financial empowerment of its members.
” This conference will in no small measure, provide us with the opportunity to refresh our knowledge and to learn techniques in economic development and it will equally further massage improve our capacity in wealth creation for sustainable development,” she said.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, National Co-operative Financing Agency of Nigeria Mr Emmanuel Atama said that that cooperative societies provided opportunity for members to be financially included .
“Once they are financially included we give them access to products such as access to savings, credits, pension, insurance and capital market products for them to tap into the National housing fund and become home owner this will make them look like the other person’s that are in the former sector.
“It is not enough to advocate for skills, it is not enough for you to train people, it will be enough for you to give them all the necessary support like starter packs and access to credit and opportunities for them and also to find life meaningful.
“We believed that this person’s on their own they are employed but they don’t have access to those social securities like pension, health care and housing like other person’s have,” he said.
The Assistant General Manager with the Mortgage Bank, Mrs Mercy Dominic said that there was need for continuous sensitisation of Nigerians on the importance of cooperative societies which could add value to individual lives.
Dominic said that it was mandatory for all workers to contribute 2.5 per cent of their income to the national housing fund.
She added that after a period of six months, Nigerians would be qualified to approach the federal mortgage bank to draw from the fund to get a loan to buy, to build and to renovate their residences.
” We are here to sensitise the cooperative on the benefit of the national housing fund, a lot of them are contributing to the scheme and some are not.
” So with the drive of the federal mortgage bank, we are going all out for the informal sector to make sure that informal sector of the economy is covered in the national housing fund.
In the same vein, the NOLGALSS Chairman of Zamfara State, Ahmad Hashim, called on Nigerians to belong to a cooperative societies so as to ease any form of financial burden.
“As a cooperative, we are People of like minds coming together to agree on what to do in terms of pursuing economic activities so that they can be able to help themselves to create wealth, to remove poverty, to ensure that they are empowered in relation to the membership.
” So the power of the cooperative rest on its members and the resources are also from the embers. The members of the cooperative pool resources together and also purse money together and also get revenue for themselves.
” They can access loan , grants, other financials to address poverty issues and welfare issues like housing and capital for investment,” he said.
