The Nigerian Shippers’ Council Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited has declared more than N44m dividends to be paid to its members. This is even as it recorded a net surplus of 46 percent for the 2022 financial year.
Speaking at the 27th Annual General Meeting with the theme: “The Cooperative Society: A viable Key to Savings Culture and Investment for Rewarding Future,” on Thursday in Lagos, the Executive Secretary of the Council, Emmanuel Jime noted that the discipline of developing savings culture promotes healthy and generous accumulation of funds to build reasonable resources that can be deployed to investments which would generate regular flow of income in the future.
Jime added that it is important for members to save from their current income for the future because all staff of the Council can only work for a limited time to gather the seed that would be sown for more output in the future.
While commending the fund managers of the Council’s Cooperative Society for their trust and sincerity of purpose exhibited, the Executive Secretary however charged them to embark on aggressive training for members for the purpose of more understanding of the cooperative society and to identify viable investment opportunities to increase the value of returns on the savings of members.
“I must state that I am proud to remain as a member of the Council’s Cooperative Society not only because of huge dividend I received last year, but because of the trust and sincerity of purpose exhibited by the mangers of the funds.
“I implore the management of the cooperative society to embark on aggressive and meaningful training for themselves and members for the purpose of more understanding of the cooperative society and to identify viable investments opportunities to increase the value of returns on the savings of members.
Also speaking, the President of the Council’s Cooperative, Mr. Adeyemi Olaolu noted that it has concluded plans to pay a dividend of N44.447 million to its members for the financial year 2022.
Olaolu informed that the cooperative paid its members dividends of N30.443 million last year while it grows its net surplus from N60.887 million in 2021 to over N88.889 million, which represents about 45 per cent growth in 2022.
The Cooperative Society President also noted that all members who retired from the service during the year under review had their savings settled promptly with no deduction made. He also added that the sum of N148.559m was disbursed to them.
“The Cooperative promotes healthy and generous savings culture to build adequate funds, from which you can collect double of the savings as loan for investment purposes in order to continue the cycle of opportunities for wealth creation for a rewarding future. So, it is the best time to start developing a saving culture.
“We are still operating on two types of loan being granted to our members, that is regular loan as children education loan, of which eligibility remains the major determinant for approval and disbursement. Occasionally, we give palliative loan to members to avoid financial embarrassment that might arise due to cash flow delay.
“On e-dividend, we are committed to continuing the disbursement of dividend to members after the approval of financial statement by the cooperators via individuals’ bank accounts as opposed to cash disbursement. We are also exercising all due diligence when it comes to investment. Be assured that we remain guided by our bylaws with professional analysis to achieve maximum returns” Olaolu noted.
Speaking earlier in his opening address, the Chairman of the occasion and Deputy Director of Accounts and Finance, Mr Stephen Olaniyi elucidated on members need to improve on their investments beyond saving for the rainy days.
Olaniyi encouraged all members to begin to think on better investment plans that will match with overcoming the devaluation of the Naira. He also stressed on the importance of adequate and periodical training to enhance financial literacy among members of the cooperative society.
On his part, the immediate past President of the Cooperative society, Mr Bashir Ambi lamented the litigations currently faced by the society, adding that there is need to make proper diligence on investment plans before venturing into it.
Ambi also encouraged members to ensure they are diligent and prompt in their savings. According to him, this will enhance the productivity and effectiveness of the cooperative society.
