ANALYSIS: Osinbajo to spend over N2bn to host 7,000 APC delegates in Abuja

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is expected to spend over N2 billion on making delegates “feel comfortable” in a bid to win the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

In a bid to get the support of delegates ahead of the primary, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, Office of the Vice-President, had told delegates in Minna that vice president’s campaign organisation would provide hotel accommodation for the more than 7,000 delegates.

“Before you leave Minna to the national delegates conference, your hotel accommodations and other things will be provided for you to enable you to feel at home throughout the delegates conference.

“We have provided hotel accommodations for the more than 7,000 APC delegates to the presidential primary election.

“We don’t want a situation where more than one person will stay in a room. We want all of you to feel comfortable during the primary election.

“At the hotel, food will be provided and there will be a desk officer to attend to all your needs,” Ojudu had told delegates in Minna.

WesternPost did a breakdown of what would cost Osinbajo to make delegates “feel comfortable” during the presidential primary election.

Checks by our correspondent showed that the average cost of hotel accommodation in Abuja during the period of the primary election would be N30,000.

With delegates expected to spend at least two nights, each delegate would spend N60,000 on accommodation, amounting to N420 million for the 7,000 delegates.

With each delegate expected to take at least two meals per day at N10,000 per day. The VP’s campaign organisation would spend at least N140 million on the feeding of 7,000 delegates coming to Abuja for two days.

The VP’s campaign organisation also promised to transport delegates around Abuja during the course of the primary election. With an average cost of transportation per day in the nation’s capital at N2,500 per delegate, the campaign organisation would spend at least N35 million on the transportation of delegates.

Apart from feeding, accommodation and transportation, each of the 7,000 delegates are also expected to get honourarium of at least N250,000. With this at least N1.75 billion would go to honourarium for the 7,000 delegates.

While all other expenses are yet to be factored in, making delegates to “feel comfortable” is expected to cost the VP’s campaign organisation about N2.4 billion.