This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole
responsibility of the International Co-operative Alliance, and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.
Nigeria Legal Framework Analysis: Key Highlights
This one-pager aims to provide a brief overview of the most notable features of Nigeria’s
national cooperative legal framework, based on the work of national legal experts and ICA
member input.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Co-operative Societies Act Cap N98 2004 (NCSA/Federal Act), is the
supreme legislation on co-operative societies. There are other legal sources for the rules and
regulations for the formation, operation and dissolution of cooperative societies in Nigeria.
Main regulations: This table displays a selection of cooperative regulations identified by
experts and ICA members. For the full analysis including all relevant regulations, see the full
report.
Regulation
Brief Description
The Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as
amended)
The Nigerian Cooperative
Societies Act CAPN98 2004
(formerly Decree No. 90 of
1993)
This is a re-enaction of the Nigerian Cooperative Societies’ Decree No. 90 of 1993
States Cooperative Societies
Law and Regulations
This is made pursuant to state laws.
By-laws of individual cooperative
societies
Cooperative Friendliness: From the view of ICA contributing member organizations, the
degree of “cooperative friendliness” of the national legislation is very limited so much that there
are very few legislative provisions promoting growth and development of cooperatives.
These notable “cooperative friendly” provisions include giving cooperatives the autonomy to
make its own laws (bye-laws), control the investment of its funds and exercise its discretion in
the choice of an auditor to audit its accounts. Also, exemption from certain taxes by both the
State and Federal law is another good practice.
Key recommendations for improvement: There should be an improvement in the legal
framework that will promote decentralization of powers between the state cooperative body
and the federal apex bodies, allow flexibility in cooperative by-laws rather than the imposition
of template by-laws by the Ministry and there is a need to establish a financial aid scheme at
single digit interest rate by government to promote cooperative business.
Conclusions: The legislation whether at the Federal or State level should not be overly
prescriptive as it is presently, but create an atmosphere conducive to cooperative autonomy
and development. The legal framework should curb give freedom to the societies to define the
parameters for their management and business activities.
