Climate Change Summit Not Limited To Government Officials, Presidency Says

A number of Nigerians on social media have questioned why certain names were included on the alleged list, expressing their outrage over the list of Nigerian delegates to the Climate Change summit.

In response to the outcry, presidential aide Dada Olusegun stated in a post on Sunday via his X handle that the summit is open to all civil servants and government officials.

According to Olusegun, the United Nations (UN) asked a number of these organizations and members of the private sector to submit a list of their delegates, the majority of whom were to be supported by the European Union, World Bank, and other organizations.

According to the presidential aide, the federal government is only in charge of providing food for the members of its immediate staff, which makes up a very small percentage of all the delegates.

While there may be concerns about the people on the delegate list, he pointed out that President Tinubu is not insensitive enough to permit such waste at this time when he is spearheading the effort to reduce unnecessary spending.

He wrote: The Climate Change Summit is not specific to just government officials. It also includes those of the National Council on Climate Change, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NSIAs, NGOs, and many others.

“The United Nations sent a request to several of these bodies to send a list of their delegates, with most of them to be sponsored by the World Bank, European Union, and others.

“This request was also extended to several private sector members, including Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, and many others.

“The list, even before now, has always been made up of a tiny fraction of Nigerian government officials, as many other interests have to be represented as requested by the organizers.

“Nigeria’s delegation list is unified, including both government and non-government representatives. This means every name under Nigeria is categorised as “Nigeria’s Delegation,” whether from a Ministry, NGO, Private Sector, Parastals, or part of the “President’s delegation.”

“Individuals of the same Nationality (Nigeria) can be sponsored by foreign organisations as NGOs will also take on their expenses.

“In the Nigerian Pavilion at COP 28, hundreds of panels have been held, coordinated by different ministries, private sectors, academia, and CSOs.

“During the summit, invited ministers MUST participate at different times in the program, which is divided according to schedule.

“FG is ONLY responsible for catering for its immediate staff, which is a very tiny portion of the total delegates.

“While there may be reservations about who has been nominated by certain NGOs, it is important to understand that President Tinubu is not insensitive to allow such wastage at this point in time when he is leading the charge to cut wasteful spending on subsidies and foreign exchange which has a direct impact on the citizens.

“We look forward to recording more gains from the event as it gets wrapped up soon. President Tinubu will succeed!!

“May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”