Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, has called for a data-driven approach to economic planning and employment generation, saying reliable information is critical to matching residents with opportunities and ensuring public investments deliver measurable wealth.
Hamzat made the call at the 2026 Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum of the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment in Ikeja, with the theme, “Building an All-Inclusive Data-Driven Economy for Sustainable Wealth Creation.”
Represented by the Special Adviser on Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs. Ore Finnih, the Deputy Governor said data should provide government with accurate information on the number of people entering the labour market, the skills required by employers, businesses’ financing needs and opportunities available across local government areas.
He said youth development should be integrated into economic policy, rather than treated solely as a social intervention, while advocating greater access to quality education, employable skills, digital infrastructure, finance and mentorship.
Hamzat also stressed the importance of micro, small and medium enterprises in job creation, noting that government alone could not provide the employment opportunities required by Lagos’ growing population.
He urged stakeholders to measure the impact of empowerment programmes by tracking how many beneficiaries secured jobs, increased their incomes, expanded their businesses or became employers.
The Deputy Governor called for closer alignment between vocational training and labour-market requirements, particularly in emerging industrial corridors such as Lekki-Epe, while advocating increased investment in artificial intelligence, data analytics, fintech, cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital commerce and creative technology.
He also called for women-owned businesses, persons with disabilities, informal-sector operators and vulnerable households to be properly captured in official economic data.
Hamzat proposed an integrated Data Compact for Inclusive Wealth Creation to bring together government, businesses, labour-market information, skills, investment, education and community-level data, with the aim of helping residents identify training, employment, financing and market opportunities.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, said the ministry had established job fairs across the five divisions of Lagos and trained 1,000 youths in photography, film production and content creation in 2026.
Ajigbotafe added that more than 10,000 job seekers had been recorded, with over 850 people recruited. He also introduced the “Ibile Idea”, an economic intelligence framework designed to identify available skills, emerging job opportunities and skills gaps across the state.
The Chief Executive Officer of Human Investment Group, Ms. Ajibola Ponnle, called for artisans to be transformed into recognised enterprises through registration, certification, digital identities, access to finance and internationally recognised qualifications.
Similarly, GIZ representative, Mrs. Svjetlana Dokic, highlighted the importance of real-time labour-market information in addressing skills gaps, while the Chief Executive Officer of W-Holistic Business Solutions, Mrs. Lanre Oniyitan, advocated stronger support for micro, small and medium enterprises and improved access to reliable business data.