Criticisims yesterday, greeted the high number of delegates Nigeria sent to the ongoing Conference of the Parties, COP28 climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE, at a time of austerity that the Federal Government was urging the citizenry to make more sacrifices.
Nigeria accounts for 0.319 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions but her 1,411-delegation is joint third largest with China, after the host nation-UAE with 4,409; and Brazil, 3,081, followed by Indonesia 1,229; Japan 1,067 and Turkey 1,045.
The highest global carbon dioxide emission countries are China (32.88 per cent); United States of America (12.6 per cent); EU 27 (7.28 per cent); India (6.99 per cent); Russia (4.99 per cent); Japan (2.81 per cent); Iran (1.782 per cent), Indonesia (1.797 per cent); Germany (1.75 percent); Canada (1.51 per cent) and Brazil (1.21 per cent).
The official delegations of some top countries to COP28 are USA 159; Canada 187; Japan 255; India 725; United Kingdom 75; and European Union 124.
Recall that Africa accounts for only 4 per cent of global carbon emissions, despite being the continent that will suffer most from climate change.
However, the Federal Government, yesterday, said it was not footing the bills of the 1,411 delegates as COP-28 records put Nigeria’s official figure at 590 and the other 821 as “overflow” participants.
Picking holes in the number of delegates Nigeria sent to the summit, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, demanded roll call and cost incurred by Federal Government delegates, and also urged the National Assembly to probe the incident.
In like manner, the Labour Party, LP, and its 2023 Presidential Candidate, Mr. Peter Obi described the action as wasteful noting that it was sad that the Federal Government which ought to be cutting the cost of governance was being wasteful.
It should also be noted that speaking on global warning at the Arewa Joint Committee’s forum in Kaduna during the presidential campaign period, President Bola Tinubu had said: “It’s a question of how do you prevent a church rat from eating poisoned holy communion.
“We need to open our eyes. We need to tell the West, if they don’t guarantee our finances and work with us to stop this, we are not going to comply with their climate change. They will do it.
“For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow, but what is happening today.”
However, the Presidency clarified yesterday that only a handful of the 1,411 Nigerian delegates, who registered to attend the COP-28 Climate Summit in Dubai are sponsored by the Federal Government.
It said a bulk of the contingents comprised private sector players such as business people, Civil Society Organisations and delegates from Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger-Delta region.
But it was learnt the Federal Government sponsored 589 of the delegates to the summit.
It also argued that the delegates are at the Summit to promote their respective causes and not for a jamboree.
“It is important to state here that delegates from all countries, whether from government, private sector, media and civil society groups, attend COP summits and conferences as parties and the number of attendees are registered against their countries of origin. This does not mean they are sponsored or funded by the government,” a statement signed by President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, read.
The response follows social media uproar over the significant presence of Nigerian delegates at the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
While noting that the large contingent from Nigeria is not solely government-funded, Ajayi said: “It is important to state here that delegates from all countries whether from government, private sector, media and civil society groups attend COP summits and conferences as parties and the number of attendees are registered against their countries of origin.
“This does not mean that they are sponsored or funded by the government. It must also be said that the fact that people registered to attend a conference does not mean everyone who registered is physically present.
In separate reactions to the number of Nigeria’s participants at COP28, the LP and Obi kicked.
In a series of tweets on his X (formerly Twitter), Peter Obi urged Nigerians to strive to compete with China in the area of production and not on the size of delegations to a specialized conference of experts.
He described the size of Nigeria’s delegation as a misplaced imitation of a country dutifully pulling their people out of poverty.
“In a twist of sad irony, let me congratulate the giant of Africa, Nigeria, for matching the great China, with the same number of contingents at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nigeria’s contingent to COP-28 totaled 1,411, the same number as the Chinese contingent.
The LP standard bearer noted that while China’s budget for 2024 is about $4 trillion, about $2,860 per head; Nigeria’s budget is about $33 billion, about $165 per head.
On its part, the PDP queried what it described as President Tinubu’s bloated delegation of 1,411 individuals to the COP28 in Dubai.
According to the PDP, the delegation is reportedly brimming with his cronies, political minions and their mistresses at huge expense to the nation.
National Publicity Secre-tary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, in a state-ment, said: “The PDP holds that this incidence is a further validation that the Tinubu-led APC administration is wasteful, frivolous and reckless in the application of the scarce resources of the nation, especially at a time Nigerians are yearning for prudent management of resources to achieve the desired infrastructural regeneration, job creation and revamping of the economy.
“The PDP dismisses the feeble attempt by the Presidency to rationalize the over-bloated delegation by trying to hide under genuine sub-national officials, businesses, journalists and civil societies, who are travelling at their own expense to cover the baggage of cronies, mistresses and other hangers-on associated with the Presidency, who are reportedly attending at government’s expense and have no relevance whatsoever at the Conference.
“Our Party and all well-meaning Nigerians are appalled by the level of profligacy inherent in the APC administration whose actions and policies so far are skewed towards the promotion and institutionalization of corruption.
“The attempt to deceive Nigerians even when the list of the delegation is in the public domain, shows that the APC administration is irredeemably depraved.”
Ologunagba further said: “We ask, why would a country whose citizens are dying daily from inability to purchase necessities be willing to fritter its resources and scarce foreign exchange in such a manner?
“It only points to the fact that this administration is not interested in the good of the generality of our citizens but for a select few positioned to fleece the nation’s resources.
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