Vision 20: 2020 target, not realisable - Minister

Nigeria's vision of being among the 20 most industrialized nations in the World may no longer be realisable. This assertion was made by Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman Wednesday,  while he was presenting the scorecard of his ministry to the National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and other members of the National Working Committee, NWC in Abuja.

According to him, 'Where were we in 2009? We were number 44. By the end of 2011, we were number 39, by the end of 2012 we were in number 36, this is progress. We made quite a lot of progress. In other areas we are not. I don't want any of you to meet me in 2020 and say you are the one telling us that we are going to be among the top 20. But what I am saying is that even if we are not among the 20 by that time, we were number 44 in 2009. If by 2020 we are number 25, I will be a very proud man. The reason is because we are consciously moving and doing all the necessary things to move up there.

''It's not saying we must be there. What it's saying is if we get there then these are the actions we must need to take as a country. We must do this and that in governance, in human development, in infrastructure. That is what the document is saying and we are actually taking those steps'.

The Minister also disclosed that the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan, NIMP designed for the next thirty years will be ready in July, even as he said that 50% of the nation's Bilateral Agreements were presently not functioning as some of them are already dead.

He added that the Commission at the moment had reviewed 488 of such agreements noting that it was quite unfortunate that Nigerians were not getting the full benefit of the signed agreements.