The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris said Nigeria has a significant stake in climate action, hence the country’s active and robust participation at the COP-28 summit. Photo: Radio Nigeria Archive
The Federal Government says its delegation to the ongoing Climate Summit in Dubai COP-28, is not unwarranted, as it further lays credence to the status of Nigeria as the giant of Africa.
The 1,411 Nigeria delegation to the COP28 summit has been generating reactions, particularly from the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They described the number of delegates from Nigeria to the summit as insensitive, particularly now that many of its citizens are living in poverty.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, in a statement, said the summit provides a platform for the country to further play a key role in climate action in a summit of more than 70,000 participants drawn from the global community.
The Minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s promise of transparency is not in doubt as its delegation comprised of government officials, representatives from the private sector, civil society, the voluntary sector, state governments, media, multilateral institutions, representatives of marginalized communities, among many others.
Idris pointed out that It is imperative to point out that 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, hence the country’s active and robust participation at COP-28 summit.
According to Idris, the country has started benefitting from the summit following the agreement between Nigeria and Germany on an accelerated performance agreement to expedite the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He maintained that President Tinubu also hosted a high-level meeting with stakeholders and investors on the Nigeria Carbon Market and the Electric Buses Rollout Programme on the margins of the COP28 climate summit.
The Minister also pointed to the Electric Buses program of the President which he described as the first step in a series of innovative, clean, modern, and sustainable initiatives across diverse sectors, all aimed at simultaneously addressing climate change-related challenges.
Idris maintained that the country stands to benefit from the Loss and Damage Fund established during COP-27 in Egypt and formally operationalized at the opening plenary of COP-28 in Dubai as the Fund will provide substantial non-debt financing to support countries most affected by the impact of climate change saying that hundreds of millions of dollars have already been pledged as contributions to the Fund.
He added that with the results already manifesting, the Nigerian delegation to Dubai are not there for jamboree but for serious business.
Writing by Oluwaaseyi Ajibade; Editing by Julian Osamoto
