The Lagos State government through her Bureau of Statistics (LBS) in partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has urged the informal sector stakeholders for their cooperation in providing factual data that would mirror the true Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the state.
The appeal was made during a two-day Stakeholder’s Forum with Informal Sector on performance of Economic Data in Lagos, organized by Lagos Bureau of Statistics, under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget held at LCCI, Ikeja, as the sector has been identified as a key performer in the State’s economic development but not well represented in the GDP of the state.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, Mrs. Olayinka Modupe Ojo in her remarks said the informal sector has been playing an integral role in the economy with provision of livelihoods for many, thereby adding to the GDP but has not been well captured in the computation.
Her words, “The informal sector plays a critical role in our economy, providing livelihoods for millions and contributing substantially to GDP. It is a sector marked by resilience, ingenuity, and adaptability, often thriving even under challenging circumstances.
“Despite its undeniable importance, the informal sector remains underrepresented in economic data and planning, limiting its potential for growth and integration into the broader economic framework.”
According to Mrs Ojo, the capturing of accurate data on the informal sector has been a persistent challenge because of the diverse, decentralized, and often undocumented nature of the sector, stating that the forum provides a unique opportunity to address the gap by engaging stakeholders from across the spectrum—government, academia, civil society, and the informal sector itself.
Dr. Olubunmi Kole-Dawodu, the Lagos State Manager, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), during his paper presentation said lots of affairs occur in the informal sector that could enhance the economic progression of the State, urging the government to harness the full opportunities in the sector.
According to him, “We know that a lot of activities run within that sector, a lot of value including employment creation, revenue generation, income generation for their employees and all that. We want to harness all the blessings that come with that sector. This is a whole sector that the government has not been looking at completely.
“The number of informal businesses in Lagos alone is above 50 million which means that some people run two or three businesses informally. Some are not registered officially, some do not have tax identification numbers, and so whatever they do is just informal or semi-formal in some cases.
“We want to try and put a bit of structure into this to suggest it to the state government to look at it holistically and see how computation of the GDP can be accurate in Lagos.”
He added that the informal sector faces challenges like ‘lack of formal recognition and limited access to resources’ as a result of inaccurate data of the sector therefore the event provides an avenue to call on the government to cater for intervention for the sector.
A Retired Director from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Chief Emeka Ofili said, “The entire economy is made up of both the formal and informal sector. But the GDP that is being compiled is significantly from the formal sector. While the informal sector, which contributes a substantial part of it, is not being covered.
The ex-Bureau chief noted that Lagos State will show the correct size of its economy with this giant step to incorporate the informal sector data to the computation of the State’s GDP.
