The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has said the Federal Government funded 422 persons out of the 1,411 Nigerians at the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Idris made this known in a statement on Monday following the controversy that greeted the revelation that Nigeria had one of the highest delegations at the conference despite the rising poverty and hunger across the country.
The government said the Nigerian delegation includes government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalised communities, and many others.
However, Idris said 422 delegates were chosen from the Presidency, National Council on Climate Change, Federal Ministry of Environment, All Ministries, Office of the Vice President, National Assembly, and federal parastatals and agencies.
The statement, titled ‘Re: Nigeria At Cop-28’ reads partly, “It is imperative to point out that the overall Nigerian delegation to COP28 comprises government-sponsored (Federal and State Governments) and non-government-sponsored participants (from private companies to NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia, etc).
“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.
“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.”
