President Umar Musa Yar’Adua will declare open the 13th Nigerian Economic Summit on September 5, at 4pm.

The summit, which is being jointly organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the National Planning Commission (NPC), has as its theme: "Nigeria – Positioning for the Top 20 League", and is scheduled to hold from September 5 to 7 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Towards the end of its tenure, the previous government had articulated the vision that, "Nigeria will be among the top 20 economies by 2020". In line with this, the President had in his inaugural speech on May 29, emphasized that his government was committed to deepening democracy and the rule of law; building an economy driven primarily by the private sector; displaying zero tolerance for corruption in all its forms; and restructuring and staffing the government to ensure efficiency and good governance.

It is expected that the President will also preside over the closing ceremony on September 7, during which the key recommendations of the summit will be formally presented to him.
Other key events at the summit include:

•The Summit Opening Dinner on September 5, where the Vice President, Goodluck Jonathan will be the Special Guest of Honour. The dinner will feature a presentation on Governance, Development and Poverty Reduction in Africa by a prominent international speaker.

•The Summit Closing Dinner on September 6, which is being sponsored by First Bank Nigeria Plc, a traditional platinum supporter of the annual Nigerian Economic Summit. The Senate President, Senator David Mark, is expected to be the Special Guest of Honour.