FG funded only 422 delegates to COP28 – Presidency

President Bola Tinubu has cleared the air on the number of people it sponsored to the ongoing Conference of Party (COP) 28 in Dubai. According to the presidency through its media handle on Twitter, the Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons.

There has been uproar in the public domain since it was revealed that 1,411 delegates left the shore of Nigeria for the summit in the Middle East. But the presidency has said that only 422 of those were sponsored by the FG

“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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“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),” the statement read.

According to the Presidency, as the biggest economy and most populous country in Africa, with a substantial extractive economy and extensive vulnerability to climate change, Nigeria has a significant stake in climate action, and our active and robust participation at COP is therefore not unwarranted.

“COP-28 presents an array of investment and partnership opportunities for the various sectors affected by climate change, and Nigeria is already benefiting from its ongoing participation.”

Since the opening of the summit, Nigeria and Germany have signed an accelerated performance agreement to expedite the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve Nigeria’s electricity supply.

“The agreement was signed by Kenny Anuwe, the Managing Director and CEO of FGN Power Company, and Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, at a ceremony witnessed by President Tinubu and Chancellor Scholz.”

The release also stated that the president hosted a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and the Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the COP28 climate summit.

“The President unveiled the Nigeria Carbon Market Activation Plan, co-chaired by the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), Dahiru Salisu.

“The Electric Buses program is only the first step in a series of innovative, clean, modern, and sustainable initiatives across diverse sectors, all aimed at simultaneously addressing climate change-related challenges, reducing carbon footprint, modernizing infrastructure systems, and positioning Nigeria as an attractive destination for global investments.

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“Nigeria stands to benefit from the Loss and Damage Fund established during COP-27 in Egypt and formally operationalized at the opening plenary of COP-28 in Dubai. The Fund will provide substantial non-debt financing to support countries most affected by the impact of climate change. Hundreds of millions of dollars have already been pledged as contributions to the Fund.”

According to the statement, the President also met the President of UAE to concretize engagements between the two countries. This is aside from the bilateral talks held with several countries and multilateral partners.