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THE Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan said yesterday that the Federal Government will produce a medium-term national development plan for 2008-2011 and implement sound economic policies that would accelerate the nation’s march towards the attainment of the Vision 20/2020 as well as improve the living conditions of all Nigerians.

He stated this while declaring open a one-day inter-ministerial retreat on the harmonisation of the NEEDS-2 and the present administration’s seven-point agenda aimed at producing a medium term national development Plan for 2008-2011.

According to him, the present administration under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has set out to consolidate on the gains achieved in the past few years and launch Nigeria on the path of sustainable development to ensure the attainment of the nation’s Vision 20/2020 aspiration.

“Let me reiterate that this administration is committed to the implementation of sound economic policies, good governance and winning the war against corruption. What we need is an action plan for facilitating development of infrastructure such as transportation, energy, ICT, water and sanitation; an action plan that will deepen our commitment in the health and educational sectors, and other social services; an action plan for security, law and order,” he said.

He, therefore, averred that the efforts of the present administration are geared towards wealth creation, employment generation and sustainable poverty reduction that are production driven, and that producing a realistic 2008-2011 plan is imperative for participants at the retreat.

According to him, the plan “must create ample room for productivity enhancement and value addition that are critical for acceleration of economic growth and development, stressing that a double digit GDP growth rate is mandatory if Nigeria is to attain her Vision 20/2020 mark.

He, therefore, charged all ministries, departments and agencies of government to ensure that sectoral growth levels are doubled within the plan period of 2008-2011.

Earlier in his remarks, Minister for National Planning, Senator Sanusi Daggash, said the need to harmonise the draft NEEDS-2 with the seven-point agenda was borne out of the present administration’s desire to ensure that its campaign promises are backed up with specific strategies for actualization.

He noted that the output of the harmonization process will form the Medium-Term Development Plan that will guide the development operations of the present administration during the 2008-2011 target period.

The retreat had in attendance the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe, the Head of Federal Civil Service, Mrs. Ebele O. Okeke, Ministers, permanent secretaries, members of the National Assembly, technical teams from the Office of the Vice President and the National Planning Commission, and Directors of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government, among others.