Taiwo Oyedele: 81% of employed Nigerians are in sectors that don’t add value to economy

Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms, says about 81 percent of employed Nigerians are in non-productive sectors of the economy.

He said this at the Africa Trade and Investment Summit on Thursday.

Oyedele, who did not mention the sectors, said this is why Nigeria has an unemployment rate that is relatively low at 4.2 percent, the same as the United Kingdom, but the country’s poverty is one of the highest in the world.

“About 81 percent 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,” Oyedele said.

“That is the reason why our unemployment rate even though is just 4.2 percent, 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 floatation.

“So how is it that you have a high employment rate and you also have one of the highest poverty rates? That is the only explanation. We are working poor. We need to create decent jobs. Our job is just beginning.”  

Speaking further, Oyedele said the government is confronted with macroeconomic issues that are triggered, in part, by politics as well as the policy environment of the country.

Oyedele, however, said the presidential fiscal policy committee is making it easy for international investors to find Nigeria attractive enough such that the risk-adjusted returns are competitive.