Cost of Governance: Tinubu govt under scrutiny over Dubai summit

Concerns regarding the current administration’s commitment to reducing the cost of governance in the face of rising inflation and economic hardship have been seriously highlighted by the recent controversy surrounding Nigeria’s 1,411 delegates to the ongoing COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE.

This is happening at a time when the administration has been pleading with the populace to make sacrifices and put up with the suffering caused by the nation’s hardships.

However, the populace claims that the government is not acting in accordance with its words.

According to the UN Climate Change list, President Bola Tinubu came in Dubai with 1,411 delegates, making him the leader of Africa with the greatest entourage and the third-largest representation among all countries attending the meeting.

In light of the fact that millions of Nigerians are suffering economically as a result of government policies, many of their countrymen have criticized the large number of Nigerian delegates—the third largest at COP28.

This occurred in the wake of the administration’s recent declaration that it inherited “bankruptcy” and a “empty treasury.”


The allegation came as the public expressed outrage over growing inflation, which has persisted in biting deeper and forcing an increasing number of people into poverty as living standards and purchasing power decline under the current regime.

This also follows the World Bank study that revealed Nigeria’s overall debt stock increased to N87.38 trillion in the second quarter of 2023, with over 96% of the country’s revenue going into debt payment in 2022.

Many Nigerians had already urged Tinubu to implement steps to reduce the exorbitant cost of running the government in addition to his declaration that the gasoline subsidy will be discontinued.


Notwithstanding the challenges encountered by Nigerians, there has been no discernible action made by the government to lower the expense of governance.

Instead, in the face of immense suffering, it recently allotted a whopping N5 billion for the purchase of a presidential yacht, almost N19 billion for state house automobiles, and renovations to the president and vice president’s lodges.

In response to the accusations leveled against Nigeria’s large delegation to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, the Presidency made it clear that the Federal Government only financed a small fraction of the 1,411 Nigerian participants.

This was revealed in a piece shared with newsmen on Sunday morning by Temitope Ajayi, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.

He said that the majority of the contingents were made up of representatives from Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region, businesspeople, and civil society organizations.

It is crucial to note that representatives from all walks of life, including the public, business, media, and civil society organizations, participate in COP summits and conferences as parties, and the number of attendance is tracked back to their countries of birth. This does not imply that the government is supporting or funding them.

This does not imply that the government is supporting or funding them. It should be noted that not every individual who registered for a conference is guaranteed to be there in person.

It is obvious that Nigeria will send more delegates than any other nation in Africa because it is the largest nation in Africa, has the largest economy, and has a greater stake in climate action due to its big extractive industry, according to a portion of the statement.

On Monday, however, the federal government made it clearer that 422 delegates to the current climate meeting were financially supported.

President Bola Tinubu and other officials were in Dubai for “serious business,” not a jamboree, according to a statement released on Monday by Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation.

The whole Nigerian delegation to COP-28, according to Idris, was made up of individuals who were sponsored by the government (federal and state governments) and those who weren’t (private companies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, media, academics, etc.).

The breakdown read as follows: “The National Council on Climate Change sent 32 delegates; the Federal Ministry of Environment sent 34; All Ministries sent 167 delegates; the presidency sent 67; the Vice President’s office sent nine; the National Assembly sent 40; and the Federal parastatals/agencies sent 73.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, criticized the administration over the move on Sunday via his X Twitter.

Obi regretted that the large group was traveling at taxpayer expense at a time when the majority of Nigerians were struggling financially and could hardly afford food and necessities.

He claimed that the majority of the Nigerian delegation to COP28 were either unimportant civil servants or close associates, cronies, and hangers-on of powerful government figures, and that they had little to no knowledge of or connection to climate change.

The former governor of Anambra State questioned why Nigeria has the same overall number of contingents as China despite having a higher percentage of its population living in “Multi-Dimensional” poverty.

In response, President Bola Tinubu came under fire from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for leading what it called a “over-bloated delegation of about 1,411 individuals to the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.”

The PDP stated that the development further supported claims that “the Tinubu-led APC administration is wasteful, frivolous, and reckless in the application of the scarce resources of the nation, especially at a time Nigerians are yearning for prudent management of resources to achieve the desired infrastructural regeneration, job creation, and revamping of the economy.” The statement was released by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.

A nation “whose citizens are dying daily from the inability to purchase necessities would be willing to fritter its resources and scarce foreign exchange in such a manner,” the main opposition party questioned.

A large number of people being transported to the event by Tinubu, according to PDP, “points to the fact that this administration is not interested in the good of the generality of our citizens but for a select few positioned to fleece the nation’s resources.”

The party demanded that the President “come clean by making public the names of the official delegation to the Conference that is sponsored by the Federal Government.”

News analyst Dr. Reuben Abati criticized the Minister of Information’s comments when he discussed the subject on Tuesday’s Arise Television Morning Show.

The minister’s statement, according to Abati, was “absolutely unnecessary, surplus to requirement” because it went against what the presidential spokeswoman had previously declared.

This is the federal government’s second response. The special adviser, Mr. Tope Ajayi, gave this first. Next comes the second one, written by Information Minister Mohammed Idris.

Since it appears that the minister and the villa spokeswoman are stating different things, I believe the minister of information’s reaction to be completely superfluous and unneeded.

Additionally, the minister’s statement contains discrepancies. Although the organizers claim that over 97,000 people are attending the COP28, he claimed that over 70,000 individuals are there. Is it really so hard for the information minister to obtain accurate information?

”He then performs a breakdown, which he has provided and which differs from the breakdown provided by the Villa’s spokeswoman. And for that reason, I tell you, when you have a communication plan and several spokespeople, all you have to do is simple: as dictated by common sense, coordinate.

I therefore struggle with being uncoordinated and giving the incorrect impression.

The size of the delegation is the subject of complaints. The minister then appears and declares, “It is only 422, not 590.” Alright, so what distinguishes 422 from 590?

“Even 422 is fairly large because, as we reported yesterday, some of the people have not been seen in any significant event. So, if people are saying it is 590 and you are adjusting and spinning, it is 422.” According to Abati, a large number of them failed to appear at the Nigerian pavilion.