"President Bola Tinubu is fully aware of and sensitive to the economic conditions confronting our people, and as a result, he approved an audit of the expenditure profile of last year's COP 28 climate conference."
A presidential audit revealed that the Nigerian government wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars at COP 28 in Dubai last year including nearly $500,000 spent on a showcase pavilion in addition to a number of wasteful sub-contracts and consultancies, among many other avoidable expenses, an official has said.
President Bola Tinubu's spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, stated this while briefing journalists in Abuja, according to an official statement.
Mr Ngelale said President Tinubu has thus set up an efficient and prudent system for this year's climate conference, COP 29, in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Background
In December last year, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the large delegation sponsored by the government to the climate change conference in Dubai elicited condemnation by citizens who had been asked by Mr Tinubu to endure the rise in the prices of goods and services caused by government policies.
According to the UNFCCC published list of attendees during the conference last year, Nigeria and China had 1,411 delegates each with badges accredited to attend the summit in Dubai, of which about 590 were party badge holders.
A review of the published list at the time ranked Nigeria joint-third behind the conference host, the UAE and Brazil among all the countries present at COP28.
In response to public criticisms, the government said it only funded 422 persons of the 590-person list that includes the president's son, Seyi Tinubu, and other individuals believed to have no significant roles in the climate conference.
The 422 people funded by the federal government under Mr Tinubu are, however, more than the total number of official government delegations to COP27 last year (120) and COP26 in 2021 (87).
PREMIUM TIMES review of the figures at the time also showed that the number of government-funded delegates increased by over 250 per cent between COP27 in 2022 and COP28 even if all 120 official delegates at COP27 were government funded.
The 422 persons funded by the Nigerian government also suggests that the Nigerian government funded more delegates to COP28 than the UK and the US combined (even if both countries used government funds for all their party delegates - 234). The US had 159 delegates with 'party' badges, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland had 75.
Based on these concerns, Mr Ajuri, on Tuesday, disclosed that Mr Tinubu has authorised the establishment of the Climate Accountability and Transparency Portal and other measures to ensure efficiency and accountability in the nation's participation in the forthcoming COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, slated for 11 to 22 November.
Also, he said the Nigerian leader has called for an audit of the expenditure profile of Nigeria's delegation at last year's Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai amidst inefficiency of the government representatives at the summit.
The Conference of the Parties, dubbed COP, is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC).
Annually, states (countries) that are parties to the convention send representatives to COP, where they review the implementation of the climate change pact ( Paris agreement) and any other legal instrument adopted to address the lingering scourge of climate change globally.
At COP meetings, parties also make decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements.
Read the full statement below.
President Bola Tinubu has authorised the establishment of the Climate Accountability and Transparency Portal and other measures to ensure efficiency and accountability in the nation's participation in the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, slated for November 11-22, 2024.
Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this at the State House on Tuesday while briefing the media on Nigeria's preparation for the forthcoming climate conference.
He also announced that the government would strictly implement cost saving measures that would save the nation nearly ₦10 billion during COP 29 relative to expenditures made during COP 28 in Dubai last year.
"President Bola Tinubu is fully aware of and sensitive to the economic conditions confronting our people, and as a result, he approved an audit of the expenditure profile of last year's COP 28 climate conference. While there was deliberate misinformation regarding the delegation size, our investigation clearly identified inefficiencies that required immediate remedies.
"The President had approved that the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action in collaboration with the National Council on Climate Change establish the Climate Accountability and Transparency Portal (CAT-P) as a tool for every Nigerian to verify the number of delegates attending COP 29 later this year.
"This will, among other things, ensure that all members of the delegation across ministries, departments and agencies at the federal and state levels, as well as the legislative branch of government, are captured on a transparent portal. Nigerians will have full-and-real-time access into the data concerning who is attending and those the government is sponsoring to COP 29.
Mr Ngelale said concerns were raised about the size of Nigeria's delegation and the associated expenditures during COP 28 in Dubai.
He noted that in response, President Tinubu authorised an audit to fully understand and ascertain what happened and what must be done to ensure that such inefficiencies are not repeated.
According to him, the audit revealed significant wasteful expenditures at COP 28, including nearly $500,000 spent on a showcase pavilion in addition to a number of wasteful sub-contracts and consultancies, among many other avoidable expenses.
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"This review and resolution process is conducted with a view to ensuring that whatever is spent ahead of COP 29 has a function that will lead to the economic empowerment of our people and the economic development of our nation.
"Additionally, this will also ensure that anyone who is attending this conference has an economic imperative to be at that conference, engaging with companies, multilateral partners and stakeholders who will attract finance and opportunity into the country for the benefit of our people.
"Anyone who is not engaging in activities that are directly linked to the attraction of climate engagement, business opportunity, and ushering new finance into the country will not be part of the federal government's delegation this time around," the Special Envoy said.
Mr Ngelale further explained that the Nigerian delegation will efficiently utilise the on-site delegation office with a time slotting system within the conference complex, which will cost less than 10 percent of the amount spent the previous year on the pavilion.
"This is the change that Nigerians have asked for. This is the change that President Tinubu is giving to them," Mr Ngelale told reporters at the briefing.
Segun Imohiosen
Director, (Information & Public Relations)
August 20, 2024
