By Michael Oche
The Federal Government has said it is taking concrete steps to provide social protections to over 60 million Nigerians working in the informal sector.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Dingyadi, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja, at the National Dialogue on Extending Social Protection Coverage to Informal Economy Workers.
The dialogue was organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
“Today, we write a new chapter in our collective journey to give dignity, inclusion, and protection to the over 60 million Nigerians who make up our informal economy,” the minister stated
Dingyadi said by some estimates, more than 65% of Nigeria’s employed population work outside of formal contracts and formal protections.
He said “These are our traders in open markets and kiosks, farmers and fisherfolk, transport workers, okada riders, keke drivers, tailors, artisans, vulcanizers, domestic workers, caregivers, street sweepers, digital freelancers, and millions more who contribute daily to our economy
“Yet these workers are too often excluded from pensions, health insurance, maternity protection, unemployment relief, workplace injury compensation, and access to finance.”
He explained that the government is partnering key social protection agencies to deploy mobile health insurance and micro-pension schemes targeting millions of workers in the informal sector.
He restated the government commitment to closing the gap through technology-enabled systems.
“Our goal is to extend social protection to all Nigerians, especially the most excluded,” he stressed..
He listed ongoing initiatives to include the expansion of the National Health Insurance Authority and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund to cover informal workers through mobile platforms designed for easy and flexible access.
The minister added that the micro pension plan driven by PENCOM and the National Bureau of Statistics would deepen pension inclusion.
According to him, pilot projects of the plan with the ILO, UNICEF, and the World Bank are testing scalable community insurance models.
He urged that the dialogue must not end with communiqués that gather dust, but with clear targets, financing pathways and full stakeholder commitment.
He sai to succeed, we need all hands on deck, noting that governments at all levels must prioritize inclusive protection; labour unions must champion the rights of all workers not just those in formal employment and cooperatives and informal associations must help us mobilize and enroll their members.
Dr Vanessa Phala, the ILO Country Director for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone , said social protection remained a human right and an economic necessity.
Phala, represented by Mr Shailendra Kumar, Special Technical Advisor to the ILO, said it reduced poverty, exclusion and inequality while enhancing social cohesion.
She noted that many informal workers were among the 85.2 percent of Nigerians without adequate protection, adding that a comprehensive strategy was needed to overcome barriers to social security coverage.
“The ILO will continue supporting Nigeria’s efforts.
“Extending legal coverage and strengthening financing mechanisms are crucial for building a universal social protection system,” she said.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, said informal workers faced income instability, lack of insurance and exposure to economic shocks.
The minister, represented by Mr Peter Audu, Deputy Director in the ministry, said the dialogue provided a platform to design practical solutions to the challenge.
