Hopes that Nigeria could be counted among the 20 developed economies in the world by 2020 may have been dashed as the Minister of National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, said the target may not be realised.
Usman disclosed this on Tuesday when he presented his scorecard to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC).
He blamed the crisis in the power sector on the more than 30 years of military in power.
The minister said when government started the documentation of vision 20:2020 in 2009 to be among the top 20 economies in the world, Nigeria was number 44, adding that if by 2020 the nation rises to number 25, he will be a proud man.
The minister said when government started the documentation of vision 20:2020 in 2009 to be among the top 20 economies in the world, Nigeria was number 44, adding that if by 2020 the nation rises to number 25, he will be a proud man.
According to the minister, “Where were we in 2009? We were number 44. By the end of 2011, we were 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 were the one who told 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 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 and if we are? What progress are we making?”
On the problems in the power sector, Usman blamed the power failure on the military, saying, “during the military, planning was relegated. More than 30 years we neglected the power sector.”
He, however, said the federal government was on its way to transform the power sector, just the way it transformed the telecoms sector.
He, however, said the federal government was on its way to transform the power sector, just the way it transformed the telecoms sector.
The minister also noted that Nigeria had signed several bilateral and other agreements with other countries, adding that unfortunately, Nigerians are not getting the full benefits of signing all these agreements.
Explaining the challenges facing the ministry, Shamsudeen lamented inadequate funding for programmes and projects and also capacity gaps in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) due to high turnover of staff, the polling system and current subjective training and performance measures.
Other challenges include “late feedback/communication from MDAs hinders prompt delivery of actions; many MDAs not using officials National Bureau of Statistisc (NBS) figures; absence of strategic plans in some MDAs; inadequate Information Technology (IT) hardware for MDAs networking; National Planning and projects continuity bill dormant in the National Assembly; absence of a legal framework for the performance contracting system,” among others.
Earlier, the National Chairman of PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, said through planning the party could navigate its manifesto, adding that the idea behind the interaction was for people to know that the PDP led government is doing the right thing, as Nigerians expect rehabilitation of infrastructure.
He charged the minister on implementation, adding, “beside this presentation, I hope you connect with your colleagues on implementation.”
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