Nigeria Spends N1.51bn On 289 Delegates At ILO Conference, Geneva

Amid current economic challenges and a downturn in the country, Nigeria spent an average of N1.51 billion on 289 delegates at the ongoing International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conference, In Geneva, Switzerland.

LEADERSHIP reports that the 112th International Labour Conference focuses on protection against biological hazards, rights at work, and a general discussion of decent work and the care economy.
However, according to a list published by the ILO, Nigeria has the highest number of registered delegates at the conference.

Brazil is second behind Nigeria with 191 delegates, followed by Argentina with 156 representatives.
Nigeria’s delegation to the conference, led by Minister of State for Labour and Productivity Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, is the largest of the 187 countries represented at the event.

Nigeria had 289 registered delegates, including 108 registered as ‘government delegates’ and 62 identified as ‘employers’ delegates’.

The president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, and the president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, were registered as workers’ delegates.

The document also listed 116 others under ‘worker’s delegates,’ while two were identified as “persons accompanying the minister”.

The investigation, however, showed that Nigeria would have spent about N1.5 billion on the trip with 289 delegates.

This includes N928.2 million for accommodation and N578 million for the cost of procuring air tickets for all the delegates.

For instance, the NH Geneva Airport hotel in Geneva costs an average of $194 per night and offers complimentary breakfast.

Also, since the conference lasted for 11 days, each delegate would have spent an average of $2,134 each on hotel, amounting to $3.21m for the whole of the 11 days of training.

However, at N1,505/$1, the hotel accommodation accrues N928.17 million while return tickets for each delegate on Ethiopian Airlines cost N578 million at N2 million per delegate.