Cooperative Societies, Housing Provision and Poverty Alleviation in Nigeria

The study is based on the need to motivate individuals in similar wage earning employments to overcome challenges militating against accessibility to basic family needs including home ownership through incremental development. The study employed qualitative research method to carry out empirical investigation through interviews with members as well as some executive members of Covenant University Staff Cooperative and Multipurpose Society Limited, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria to obtain primary data for the study as well as secondary data from earlier annual reports of the cooperative Society. Data presentation was through the use of tables and percentages. Findings showed that various avenues provided for accessing credit, at short notice, with very low interest rates and generous repayment periods by the Covenant University Staff Cooperative and Multi-purpose Society Limited, significantly assisted members in embarking on massive housing construction on incremental basis in addition to access to funds for other family needs with ease within the ten years of the Cooperative Societies’ establishment. The paper concludes that project funding through co-operative societies’ approach has great potentials for minimising frustrations inherent in the pursuit of achievements through loans from commercial banks at variable interest rates. The paper recommends the encouragement of Staff Co-operative Societies across all segments of establishments in the countr