LAGOS STATE GOVT SEEKS INFORMAL SECTOR COOPERATION ON DATA COLLECTION FOR GDP GROWTH
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The Lagos State government, through its Bureau of Statistics (LBS) and in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has called on informal sector stakeholders to assist in providing accurate data that would accurately reflect the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This request was made during a two-day Stakeholder’s Forum with the Informal Sector on Economic Data Performance in Lagos. The event, organized by the Lagos Bureau of Statistics under the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, took place at LCCI, Ikeja. The informal sector has been recognized as a crucial contributor to the state’s economic growth, yet its impact has not been adequately represented in the state’s GDP.
Mrs. Olayinka Modupe Ojo, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget, emphasized that the informal sector plays a vital role in the economy by providing livelihoods for many individuals, thus contributing to the GDP. However, this contribution has not been fully accounted for in the GDP calculations.
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.
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