The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed that it only funded 422 persons to the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This was confirmed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris.
The minister made this known in a statement on Monday following a controversy trailing 1,411 Nigerian registered delegates at the summit.
President Bola Tinubu had on November 29, 2023, departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end on December 12, 2023.
Controversy has since surrounded the number of Nigerian delegates at the summit which ranked that of China, with many Nigerians on social media berating the government for being ‘insensitive’ to their economic sufferings occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy in mid-2023.
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Opposition political parties — the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) had called on the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to release the number of government-sponsored delegates to the Dubai summit.
Providing ‘clarity’ on the controversy, the minister said ‘Nigeria’s representation is very much in line with our status as Africa’s leading Sovereign voice and player in climate action’.
The government said the Nigerian delegation include government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalised communities, and many others.
‘It is imperative to point out that the overall Nigerian delegation to COP-28 comprises Government-sponsored (Federal and State Governments) and non-government-sponsored participants (from Private Companies, NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia, etc),’ the statement partly read.
“The Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons, as follows:
“National Council on Climate Change = 32
“Federal Ministry of Environment = 34
“All Ministries = 167
“Presidency = 67
“Office of the Vice President = 9
“National Assembly = 40
“Federal Parastatals/Agencies = 73.”
The minister said Nigeria’s “active and robust participation at COP” was not “unwarranted” as the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa.
He assured Nigerians that the President and other officials on the government’s delegation were in Dubai for “serious business, not a jamboree”.