Analyst faults Presidency over “bloated” number of delegates at COP28

An analyst on the Channels TV Sunday Politics Show, Jideofor Adibe, who is a Professor of Political Science has knocked the Presidency over its “bloated” number of delegates at the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Adibe said that 1411 Nigerian delegates that accompanied President Tinubu to the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai cast doubt on the Federal Government’s ‘compassion’ for the suffering masses.

The professor said that going with over a thousand delegates to the summit was a clear depiction of the high cost of governance that the President has repeatedly vowed to cut down.

He said, “Amid the binge on loans and borrowings, and the increasing hardship and increasing emigration of Nigerians, these things happening, is not just that it raises the question about fidelity to cutting down the cost of governance, but also the question of whether there is even compassion for suffering Nigerians because if there is compassion for what is going on in the country at the moment, people (government officials) should also be sensitive to the optics about the whole thing.”

Adibe asserted that the government funded the transportation of the delegates from Nigeria to Dubai.

READ ALSO: UAE grants Air Peace direct flight approval to Dubai

Also, the analyst said that the government will pay daily “Estacodes of about $900” for the delegates, as well as hotel costs for them for about two weeks of the summit.

According to the professor, delegates that ought to accompany the President should be experts on specific roles and no more than three ministers should accompany the president to international events such as the COP 28 Climate Summit in Dubai.

Adibe urged President Tinubu to walk the talk of cutting down the cost of government by sanctioning officials responsible for the large delegation in Dubai.

Meanwhile, data from Statisense has revealed that Nigeria’s GDP ranks lower than 12 countries with fewer COP28 delegates.

Nigeria sent 1,411 delegates to COP28 while maintaining a $477.37 billion gross domestic product (GDP). Indonesia follows closely with 1,229 delegates, marking a substantial $1.32 trillion in economic size.

Japan took 1,067 delegates boasting a significant $4.24 trillion in economic strength. Turkey has 1,045 delegates, representing an economic volume of $905.84 billion.

India follows with 948 delegates, showcasing an impressive economic worth of $3.39 trillion. France with 800 delegates has a robust $2.78 trillion in economic value.

The USA has 770 delegates with an immense economic scale of $25.46 trillion. Canada with 742, has a $2.14 trillion economy.

Israel has 718 delegates but possesses a considerable economic volume of $525 billion.  The UK, with 697 delegates, exhibits a substantial economic scale of $3.08 trillion. South Korea follows closely with 689 delegates, and showcases an economic value of $1.67 trillion.

Russia secured 590 delegates, showcasing a significant economic worth of $2.24 trillion. Meanwhile, Italy has 533 delegates boasting an economic scale of $2.01 trillion.

According to Carbon Brief, this year’s COP28 climate summit in the UAE has the highest number of registered delegates ever. Over 97,000 people have badges to attend the conference in Dubai, which is almost twice as many as last year’s COP27 in Egypt.