PDP to Tinubu: Tell Nigerians how much was spent to sponsor delegates at COP28

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Bola Tinubu to tell Nigerians how much was spent to sponsor the delegates attending the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

According to a list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Nigeria has 1,411 participants out of 81,027 delegates registered to attend the summit in person, the third-highest number, alongside China.

The participants’ list showed that Nigeria also has the highest number of registered delegates from Africa.

Some of the Nigerian delegates are ministers, governors, special advisers to the president, and other chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The federal government has come under criticism over the participants’ list as many Nigerians condenmed the sponsoring of delegates to the conference with taxpayers’ money.

In a statement on Sunday, Debo Ologunagba, PDP spokesperson, said the Tinubu’s administration is “wasteful, frivolous and reckless in the application of the scarce resources of the nation”.

The opposition party accused the president of adding the names of his “cronies, mistresses and other hangers-on associated with the presidency” to the delegates’ list.

“Our party challenges the presidency to come clean by making public the names of the official delegation sponsored by the federal government to the conference, the relevance of such individuals to the Conference and the total cost of such sponsorship on the nation,” the statement reads.

“Of course, Nigerians have the list and they know the genuine officials of sub-national governments and other self-sponsored entities at the Conference.

“The PDP calls on the national assembly, pursuant to its constitutional duty under Section 88 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) which empowers it to investigate and expose corruption by any organ of government, to immediately commence investigation into this embarrassing revelation and impose appropriate sanction on anyone or Institution found culpable in that regard.

“Our party also demands that President Tinubu should be ready to refund any federal government funds improperly spent to sponsor any individual who has no relevance at the conference.

“Such funds should be channelled to projects that have direct bearing on the wellbeing of Nigerians.”