As the administration of President Bola Tinubu advocates for strict measures to reduce expenses, Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate from the 2023 elections, has taken aim at what he sees as an excessively large delegation attending the COP29 Climate Summit this year.
The COP29 summit is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, where a reported 634 Nigerian delegates are present, funded by the federal government. This figure marks a significant increase in the number of delegates compared to previous conferences; for instance, Nigeria’s delegation at COP28 in the UAE was just 120, up from 87 during COP26 in Glasgow.
The 590 delegates sent under President Tinubu’s leadership, who recently lifted fuel subsidies and urged citizens to bear the resultant economic strain, has sparked considerable public backlash. Critics have pointed out the contradiction between the President’s claims of a tight government budget and the extravagant spending associated with such a large delegation.
In response to the uproar, the government specified that it covered the costs for 422 of the 590 delegates, including notable figures such as the president’s son, Seyi Tinubu, and others perceived to have minimal involvement in the climate discussions. Nonetheless, this number still exceeds the total official delegations funded for the prior COP27 and COP26 events.
Atiku, through a statement from his media aide Paul Ibeh, derided the inflated delegation size at COP29, stating, “Under President Tinubu’s guidance, Nigeria has unfortunately become infamous on the global stage, achieving Guinness World Records for all the wrong reasons. This includes the sheer size of our delegations to international conferences, which have reached unprecedented levels.”
He further quoted a Nigerian publication, highlighting that this considerable delegation has accrued a staggering N866 million in flight costs alone. He pointed out that just prior to COP29, the delegation to COP28 had ballooned to an astonishing 1,411 members, which not only earned Nigeria the title of Africa’s largest delegation but also placed the country third among all nations represented.
“Amid this extravagant display of spending, the administration continues to promote the implementation of the Steve Oronsaye Report, which is meant to streamline governance and reduce expenditures,” Atiku noted. He concluded with a sharp criticism of the current APC government, stating, “As Daniel Bwala insightfully pointed out, the present administration’s governance strategy is contradictory—advocating for austerity while indulging in extravagance.”
