N4bn spent on World Economic Forum — Govt

A sum of N4bn was spent by the Federal Government to host the World Economic Forum on Africa, SUNDAY PUNCH can authoritatively report.

The figure, which was provided for in the 2014 budget under the service wide vote with code 23050143, is aside the unspecified amount provided for sponsorship by private sector organisations.

The budget did not provide a breakdown of the allocation but findings revealed that the amount was used to pay for hotel bills, feeding and other logistics of top government functionaries of countries that attended the event.

Some of the world leaders that attended the programme were the Presidents of Togo, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal and Ghana.

Others were the Premier of the People’s Republic of China,  Prime Ministers of Cote d Voire, Mali , and Madagascar.

The three-day forum with the theme ‘Forging inclusive growth, creating jobs’ was attended by over 1,500 delegates from about 80 countries.

Apart from government funding, the forum also had strategic partners, industry partners group and regional partners that facilitated its hosting.

The strategic partners comprised a select group of 100 leading global companies representing diverse regions and industries selected for their commitment to improving the state of the world.

When asked how much was provided by the partners for the event, the Associate Director, Media Relations, WEF, Mr. Oliver Cann, requested that a mail be sent to him on the matter.

The mail was sent at about 2:30pm on Friday but as of Saturday, no response was received.

Meanwhile, economic activities remained paralysed on Friday as movement within the nation’s capital were restricted due to the forum.

Our correspondent, who went round town, observed that most filling stations, shops, as well as some private firms were shut. For instance, the African Petroluem Filling station opposite the Transcop Hilton and the shopping mall behind the venue were shut for the three days that the event lasted.

Similarly, banks within Transcop Hilton such as Zenith Bank and United Bank for  Africa offered skeletal services.

A similar situation was recorded at the Sheraton Hotel as only accredited delegates were allowed into the hotel premises.

Apart from members of staff and accredited delegates that were allowed to gain entry into the venue of the summit, no other individual was allowed to come close to the venue owing to traffic blockade and diversion along the Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Transcop, Federal Secretariat, Eagle Square and Thisday Dome.