Senator Blasts Buhari For Destroying Economy, Questions COP28 Delegation ‘Small’ Size

The lawmaker representing Ondo South Senatorial District, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, has launched a scathing attack on the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing it of destroying the country’s economy.

In a fiery interview on Channels Television on Monday, Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South in the Senate, claimed that “every economic variable went negative” under Buhari’s watch.

He further asserted that the administration did not construct any railways, despite evidence to the contrary.

“Don’t let us talk about the Buhari’s administration because Jonathan left a positive $15 billion GDP to current account cash,” Ibrahim declared.

“Two years after Buhari came in, it became negative to $17 billion. Every of the variables went negative in the Buhari’s administration. Things went wrong.”

He continued, “All these rails and airports were built by Jonathan. You can’t even pinpoint one single project that cost $1 billion that Buhari actually funded.”

However, Ibrahim’s claim regarding railways is demonstrably false. The Buhari administration oversaw the completion of four standard gauge railway projects between 2016 and 2021, including the Abuja-Kaduna, Itakpe-Warri, and Lagos-Ibadan lines.

Shifting Focus to COP28

Ibrahim also weighed in on Nigeria’s participation in the ongoing COP28 climate conference in Dubai, criticising the size of the federal government’s delegation.

“Funding over 400 people to a conference like this is too small,” he stated. “You may want to host the conference sometime in future.”

He argued that a larger delegation would allow Nigeria to gain more knowledge and influence at such crucial events, especially given the country’s vulnerability to environmental challenges.

Ibrahim said President Bola Tinubu signed many multimillion-dollar bilateral deals at the summit in Nigeria’s interest.

The lawmaker said the international community won’t take Tinubu seriously if he was in Dubai with a lean delegation.

LEADERSHIP reports that Nigeria’s decision to send a staggering 1,411 delegates to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai has ignited a firestorm of criticism, particularly with the country grappling with economic hardship and urging citizens to tighten their belts.

Despite contributing only 0.319% of global carbon dioxide emissions, Nigeria boasts the third-largest delegation at COP28, neck-and-neck with China and trailing only the host nation, UAE, and Brazil. This stands in stark contrast to the major polluters like China (32.88%), USA (12.6%), EU (7.28%), and India (6.99%), whose delegations pale in comparison.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wasted no time in denouncing the move, demanding a roll call and cost breakdown of the government-funded delegates. They also urged the National Assembly to launch an investigation into this seemingly extravagant affair.

Echoing the PDP’s sentiments, the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, slammed the action as a wasteful display. Obi lamented that the government, which should be leading by example in cutting costs, was instead indulging in such extravagance.

However, the Federal Government attempted to quell the uproar by clarifying that they were not sponsoring the entire 1,411-strong contingent. According to COP28 records, only 590 delegates were officially funded, while the remaining 821 were classified as “overflow” participants, likely funded by other sources.