Abuja – The informal sector in four Niger Delta states of Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers can generate no fewer than 6.2 million jobs for the youth, according to a report.
The report was a review on “Informal Sector and Economic Development of the Four State Employment and Expenditure for Result (SEEFOR) in Bayelsa, Delta , Edo and Rivers.
The report was conducted by Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan.
The report, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, states that the informal sector in terms of contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the four SEEFOR states averaged 34.89 per cent.
“The average annual income of the operators ranged between N1.85 million in Edo to N3.51 million in Rivers states and averaged
about N2.46 million for all states.
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“The value-added of informal sector ranged from N848.92 billion in Bayelsa to N2, 105.066 billion in Rivers State.
“Thus, the estimated share of the sector in GDP ranged from 20.35 per cent in Rivers State and 64.65 per cent in Bayelsa state and averaged 34.89 per cent overall,’’ the report stated.
Meanwhile, at the stakeholders’ workshop to validate the report in Abuja, Dr Pa-Lamin Beyai, Country Director, UN Development Programme (UNDP), said that the study was timely for the SEEFOR states.
Beyai said the study would help the states in designing their mid- term development plans, especially as Nigeria was working toward becoming one of the largest global economies by 2020.
“This will enable policymakers to access the implication of the informal sector for the growth of the economy and for employment and poverty alleviation.
“The challenge for policy makers in Nigeria is to see ways to improve the informal sector so as to ensure a clear and positive relationship with economic growth and development.
“This requires designing suitable policies for the informal sector at the National and sub- national level,’’ he said.
The Country Director, however, assured the National Planning Commission (NPC) of the UNDP’s continual support in achieving its mandate.
He added: “we will sustain our partnership with NPC to support similar studies at National and Sub-national level in promoting the informal sector.
“This is based on our focus on strategic plan in promoting inclusive sustainable growth and development.
“We have also developed partnership to help promote the growth and survival of micro-enterprise in both informal and informal sector.’’
According to him, the informal sector plays an important, and sometimes, controversial role in any economy and at the same time provides entrepreneurship and jobs.
He, however, said that some of the jobs provided through this sector were usually lowly paid and not very secure.
Bayei further noted that the relationship between the formal and informal sectors in economic growth and poverty had not been fully investigated.
“As such governments at all levels have struggled to design the right set of policy to enhance the performance of the sector and strengthen its linkage to economic development,’’ he added.
NAN reports that the objectives of SEEFOR are to enhance opportunities for employment and access to socio-economic services while improving expenditure management systems of the participating states. (NAN)