Criticisms have greeted the high number of delegates Nigerian govt. under Tinubu sent to the ongoing Conference of the Parties, COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), at a time of austerity that the Federal Government was urging the citizenry to make more sacrifices.
Africa accounts for only 4 per cent of global carbon emissions, despite being the continent that will suffer most from climate change.
Infuriated by the number of delegates Nigeria sent to the summit, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, demanded roll call and cost incurred by Federal Government delegates, and also urged the National Assembly to probe the incident.
In like manner, the Labour Party, LP, and its 2023 Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi described the action as wasteful noting that it was sad that the Federal Government which ought to be cutting the cost of governance was being wasteful.
See list of 20 countries and the number of their delegates below:
1. Brazil: 3,081
2. China: 1,411
3. Nigeria: 1,411
4. Indonesia: 1,229
5. Japan: 1,067
6. Turkey: 1,045
7. India: 948
8. Morocco: 823
9. France: 800
10. United States: 770
11. Kenya: 765
12. Tanzania: 763
13. Canada: 742
14. Israel: 718
15. Malaysia: 700
16. United Kingdom: 697
17. South Korea: 689
18. Ghana: 618
19. Uganda: 606
20. Congo DR: 590
However, Vanguard has put the official delegations of some top countries to COP28 are USA 159; Canada 187; Japan 255; India 725; United Kingdom 75; and European Union 124.