Lagos cooperative college adopts technology to curb corruption in financial sector

The Lagos State Cooperative College (LASCOCO) says it is adopting technology and specialised training to curb fraudulent activities in cooperative societies. 

Akorede Ojomu, provost of LASCOCO, disclosed this at a recent press briefing heralding the college’s maiden graduation ceremony slated for April 7.

According to him, the college is working assiduously with cooperative societies to reduce corrupt practices. 

“We get in touch with cooperative societies daily. We are just the same. We are all in the department of the cooperative. We are all part of the movement, and from time to time, they come here (the college) for programmes regularly,” he said. 

“As a matter of fact, there is no cooperative society that will not participate in at least one programme in the college.”

Ojomu said the training intends to build the capacity of cooperative societies to block the loopholes aiding corrupt officers to carry out this bastardy act. 

“For example, about two to three weeks ago, we had a weeklong training for cooperative societies and it was for business intellects and the whole idea is to encourage cooperative societies in making the use of data and rational decision-making process in making their decisions,” he added. 

Ojomu said the training would make it difficult for corruption to pervade the cooperative societies. 

“We are trying to develop a software on collecting and spending of public money in a kind of auditing software so that there would be none of this,” the provost said.  

He said the college would graduate 104 students under its professional diploma programme at its convocation and graduation ceremony. 

Ojomu said the convocation lecture titled “Concern for the 21st Century economy: what roles do cooperatives have to play in the Transition to a Sustainable Economy?” would be delivered by Neil Calvert, chief executive officer and principal of the United Kingdom Cooperative College. 

He added that the college had been working to address sector-specific skill gaps through the provision of well-tailored training for the sub-sector.

“Within the comity of tertiary educational institutions in the state and country as a whole, the Lagos State Cooperative College falls into a specialised category in consideration of the fact that it was established to address sector-specific skill gap through the provision of specialised training for a cooperative sub-sector that is oftentimes not on the radar of the financial or conventional media,” he said.