The presidency on Tuesday announced cost-saving measures, ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP29), that will reduce government expenses by about N10b
Ajuri Ngelale, the special adviser to the president on media and publicity, who disclosed this while briefing State House journalists at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, said the government would be saving the money from the event taking place in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, in November.
According to him, ” The measures would save the government about N10 billion from the 11-day event.
He assured that the government conducted comprehensive audits of where things had gone wrong in the past, to resolve them, adding that “COP 29 is just the beginning.”
He said the cutting down of the official expenditure was necessary to avoid the embarrassment of COP28 which took place in Dubai last November.
He listed some of the measures to save funds, adding that “The government will no longer hire a pavilion which costs $500,000, while a delegation office will be set up inside the premises.
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He added that some of the wasteful platforms that give rise to consultancies and subcontracts for lighting and other technology provisions will be abandoned as they can be provided directly by the National Council on Climate Change.
According to him, the cutdown will be achieved through the provision and implementation of the climate accountability and transparency portal.
“I am here to inform the Nigerian people that the National Council on Climate Change, in collaboration with my office, has established the climate accountability and transparency portal, which will, among other things, ensure that all members of delegation across ministries, departments and agencies and including even the legislative branch of government, will be captured on a transparent portal.
“This will mean that Nigerians will have full and real-time access to those attending and those whose government is sponsoring to COP 29.
“This will also ensure that anyone who is attending this conference has an economic imperative to be at that conference, engaging with companies, multilateral partners and stakeholders who will attract finance and opportunity into the country for the benefit of our people”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu recently appointed Ngelale, as the Special Envoy on Climate Change, making his office effectively in charge of the Cop29 event.
