The Presidency, on Sunday, said only a handful of the 1,411 Nigerian delegates who registered to attend the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, were sponsored by the Federal Government.
The Presidency explained that a bulk of the contingents comprised private sector players, such as businesspeople, civil society organisations and delegates from Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region.
It also argued that the delegates were at the summit to promote their respective causes and not for jamboree.
A statement signed by President Bola Tinubu’s Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, read Sunday.
“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,”
Sunday’s response follows social media uproar over the significant presence of Nigerian delegates at the ongoing United Nations Climate Conference in Dubai.
While noting that the large contingent from Nigeria was 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 is registered against their countries of origin.
