The Federal Government has defended the number of Nigerian delegates at the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The government had been criticised by many Nigerians as well as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after a list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) showed that Nigeria, out of 81,027 delegates registered to attend the summit in person, has 1,411 participants at the conference, the third-highest number, alongside China.
The list also showed that Nigeria has the highest number of registered delegates from Africa.
Speaking on the reactions that trailed the number of Nigerian delegates at the summit, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Monday, December 4, 2023, said only 422 persons were sponsored by the federal government for the conference.
Idris noted that Nigeria’s representation was in line with the country’s status as “Africa’s leading Sovereign voice and player in climate action”.
He stated: “The Federal Government has noted with interest the public conversation on the number of delegates from Nigeria attending the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai, otherwise called COP-28, and the need to provide clarity in line with a standing pledge to conduct itself with transparency and accessibility regarding public information.
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“The Convention of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the world’s pre-eminent Climate Change Conference, attended this year (COP-28) by more than 70,000 participants and delegates from over 100 countries.
“Nigeria’s representation is very much in line with our status as Africa’s leading Sovereign voice and player in climate action.
“Parties to this Convention from Nigeria 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).”
He, however, listed the federal government-funded delegation to include 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; and Federal Parastatals/Agencies – 73.
The minister further stated that President Bola Tinubu and other government officials are in Dubai for serious business and not a jamboree.
Tinubu had, on November 29, departed Abuja for Dubai for the summit expected to end on December 12.
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