Why FG’s COP28 Delegation Is Too Small – Jimoh Ibrahim
Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South District in the 10th National Assembly, has spoken out in support of the quantity of Nigerian delegates participating in the ongoing COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
As a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ibrahim emphasized that Nigeria could potentially host the climate summit in the near future. He argued that the allocation of funding for 422 individuals out of the total 1,411 registered Nigerian delegates at the summit was insufficient
“Funding (over) 400 people to a conference like this is too small. You may want to host the conference sometimes in future,” Ibrahim said during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday.
He pointed out that the quantity of delegates significantly influences knowledge exchange during the event, emphasizing that Nigeria is grappling with the consequences of environmental pollution.
Senator Ibrahim highlighted that President Bola Tinubu successfully signed numerous multimillion-dollar bilateral deals at the summit, all in the interest of Nigeria. He argued that Tinubu’s presence with a substantial delegation in Dubai is crucial for garnering serious attention from the international community.
President Tinubu embarked on his journey to Dubai for the summit on November 29, 2023, with the event expected to conclude on December 12, 2023. The controversy surrounding the number of Nigerian delegates compared to other countries, particularly China, has sparked criticism on social media, with many Nigerians expressing discontent over the perceived insensitivity to their economic struggles following the removal of the petrol subsidy in mid-2023.
Opposition political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP), have called on the APC government to disclose the number of government-sponsored delegates attending the Dubai summit. Responding to the concerns, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, clarified on Monday that the government officially funded 422 individuals for the summit, while the remaining participants were from the private sector and non-governmental organizations.
