According to statistics from GovSpend, the Presidency through the State House has received about N69.22 million for presidential visits during the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, UAE, in December 2023.
BudgIT’s GovSpend platform monitors, evaluates, and displays Federal Government expenditure over time.
The twenty-eighth United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC or COP28, will take place at Expo City, Dubai, from November 30, 2023, to December 12, 2023.
On November 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu departed Nigeria for the summit and returned on December 5, 2023.
However, the data from GovSpend shows that seven different payments were made for the same purpose of payment for presidential trips and other related expenses on December 7, 2024, amid controversy over the bloated entourage and delegates from Nigeria.
THE MATRIX also observed that in the 2024 approved budget, about N50 million has been allocated for the upcoming COP29, which is scheduled for November 11-24 in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia
The allocation has been included in the budget of the National Council On Climate Change, which is an agency under the State House. This allocation is slightly lower than the COP28 expenditure, which may suggest a more conservative approach, possibly in response to the earlier backlash.
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The recent COP28 in Dubai was marked by a notable controversy involving President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian delegation. The large number of delegates accompanying the president, reportedly totalling 1,411 individuals, sparked widespread debate and criticism. However, there was ambiguity around the number of delegates funded by the government, as the Federal Government claimed that only 422 were government-sponsored.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, also addressed the controversy, stating that the delegation included business leaders, environmentalists, climate activists, and journalists, and not all were sponsored by the federal government.
Yet the size of the delegation, one of the largest among participating countries, raised questions about the necessity and cost-effectiveness of such a massive representation.
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The public reaction was mixed, with some criticizing the perceived extravagance, especially in the context of Nigeria’s economic challenges, while others defended the representation as necessary for a country with significant stakes in global climate discussions.
The Federal Government further disclosed that its participation in the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, UAE has yielded over $5 billion in commitments to boost its climate action efforts.
While the allocation for COP29 reflects the government’s commitment to participating in global climate dialogues, an important aspect for a country heavily impacted by climate change issues, there is a growing concern about how the government will balance international representation with fiscal responsibility in its future engagements.
As Nigeria prepares for COP29, the government’s approach to budgeting and delegation size remains a topic of national interest. In the face of economic challenges, the need for prudent spending is paramount, even as the Federal Government recently cut official travel expenditures. The government faces the task of justifying the expenses towards these international summits amidst other pressing national needs.
