The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has stated that around 81% of Nigerians who are employed work in the non-productive sector of the nation’s economy.
Speaking on Thursday at an Africa Trade and Investment Summit, Oyedele revealed this.
He claims that although while Nigeria’s unemployment rate is 4.2%, which is comparable to that of the UK, the majority of working Nigerians do not significantly boost the national economy.
According to him, this is the main cause of the poverty that most Nigerians experience.
According to Oyedele, the federal government must provide respectable jobs that will enable many Nigerians to escape poverty.
He was quoted saying, “About 81% of people in employment in Nigeria are engaged in a non-productive sector of the economy. They are doing things that do not add value in the real sense of the word.”
“That is the reason why our unemployment rate, even though it is just 4.2%, similar to that of the UK, our poverty rate is still one of the highest in the world. We have over 113 million people living in poverty as of 2022, and it is most likely to have increased because that was before subsidy removal and naira flotation.
“So how do you have a high employment rate and one of the highest poverty rates? That is the only explanation. We are working poorly. We need to create decent jobs. Our job is just beginning,”