Infrastructure: Nigeria has a lot to learn from China – Minister.

Minister and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr. Abubakar Olanrewaju Sulaiman has said Nigeria has a lot to learn from China’s rich infrastructure history.

He also counselled the incoming administration not to jettison the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) put in place by the present administration.

The Minister spoke through a message delivered by his special assistant, Abdulrahman A. Abdulrauf, at the bilateral seminar on Economy, Diplomacy and Management of Nigeria in 2015, held at Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO), Beijing, China.

The Minister noted that “If we are in a bilateral relationship, why can’t we follow suit by tilting towards this great nation and learn from their rich infrastructure history?”

Abdulrauf, who is the leader of the 30-man delegation said, “It might also interest this gathering to note that as part of the sustainable effort at fixing our country’s infrastructure, a workable document otherwise called the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) is been put in place.

“The 30-year developmental plan which is holistic in nature, is expected to gulp a whooping N485 trillion ($3.05 trillion). The five-year operational plan of this NIIMP has since taken off and is expected to lapse by 2018.”

He called on Chinese investors to “come and be part of this laudable vision as it will further go a long way in strengthening the bilateral/economic ties between the two countries. Our country’s natural resources can only be effectively harnessed when and if the right infrastructures are in place.”

Also speaking, Nigeria’s Ambassador to China, Olushola Patrick Onadipe commended the Sino-Nigeria relationship.

Represented by the Embassy’s Senior Counsellor (Economy), Onadipe said the trading volume between the countries had risen to about USD16 billion.

Also in his opening remark, President of AIBO, Li Xiaoping commended the relationship between the two countries; adding that China was always willing to support development initiatives in other countries.