HURIWA condemns Nigerian delegation’s size at COP28, calls it “unmitigated scam”

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has strongly criticized the Nigerian government’s substantial presence at the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai.

The association labelled the country’s extensive delegation to the international event as an “unmitigated scam,” denouncing the massive representation amid pressing economic challenges and environmental concerns.

Emmanuel Onwubiko, the National Coordinator of HURIWA, expressed dismay over Nigeria’s deployment of a 1,411-member team to the summit, highlighting that 590 of these delegates were sponsored by the government.

Onwubiko underscored the alarming disparity between the government’s allocation of resources for such a large delegation and the country’s current economic struggles.

“Of the 1,411 delegates, 590 were sponsored to attend the conference by the Nigerian government, which is currently battling with record inflation, an out-of-control exchange rate, a ballooning debt profile, and millions of its citizens sliding into poverty,” Onwubiko stated in an interview with The Guardian.

The National Coordinator highlighted the estimated cost of approximately N885 million for the round-trip flight tickets of the 590 government-sponsored delegates, labelling the situation a “big shame” and an “unmitigated scam.”

Onwubiko emphasized that Nigeria, already having an embassy in the UAE or nearby, should have limited its official representation to no more than ten members.