Minister of information and national orientation Mohammed Idris on Monday said the Federal Government sponsored 422 delegates to the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, not 1,411 as speculated.
Idris made the clarification in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
COP28, the Convention of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is the world’s pre-eminent climate change conference.
The minister said the clarification became necessary because of the public conversation on the number of delegates from Nigeria attending the ongoing climate summit in Dubai.
He explained that the conference was being attended this year by over 70,000 participants and delegates from over 100 countries.
According.to him, Nigeria’s representation is very much in line with its 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 COP28 comprises Government-sponsored (Federal and State) and non-government-sponsored participants (from Private Companies, NGOs, CSOs, Media, academia), etc.
“The Federal Government-funded delegation is made up of a total of 422 persons, as follows: 32 persons from National Council on Climate Change and 34 from Federal Ministry of Environment
“Others were 167 delegates from all ministries, 67 from the presidency, 9 from the Office of the Vice President, 40 from National Assembly and 73 from Federal Parastatals/Agencies,” Idris said.
