COP30: Presidency, Obi Clash over 423-man Nigeria Delegation

The Presidency on Sunday defended the size and spread of Nigeria’s delegation to COP30, saying the climate talks require officials from many ministries and agencies to protect the country’s interests.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Temitope Ajayi, argued that climate negotiations cut across energy, finance, environment, transport, agriculture and security, making a narrow team disadvantageous.

Responding to inquiries by our correspondent, Ajayi said, “Because of the multidisciplinary and multidimensional nature of the climate subject, you will typically see government officials from different agencies who are representing the government’s interest across different subject-matter areas.

“It is so because the issues being discussed are vast and the government must be represented at every point to advance the Nigerian government’s position.”

His comments come hours after the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, accused the Tinubu-led government of what he called a “stunning display of misplaced priorities” for sending a 749-member delegation to COP30.

A breakdown of the delegates list shared by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and seen by The PUNCH shows that 749 names carry Nigeria’s party badge across the “Parties” and “Parties overflow” lists, an categorisation that includes civil society, private-sector actors, academics and partners who registered under Nigeria.

However, the number of delegates from government entities was around 423. This includes the Federal Ministry of Environment, NCCC, NESREA, NOSDRA, NiMet, NIHSA, other clearly labelled federal MDAs such as Finance, Trade, Power, Solid Minerals, Agriculture & Food Security, Housing, Water Resources & Sanitation, Marine & Blue Economy, Works/Transport/Aviation), the National Assembly/Presidency/FCTA, state governments, and named regulators/SOEs such as NNPC Ltd, NUPRC, NMDPRA, NPA, NCAA, NRC.

Obi had argued that China, the world’s second-largest economy with a population of over 1.4 billion, sent 789 delegates to the event held in Belém, Brazil.

In a Saturday post on his official X handle titled ‘In Delegations, Nigeria competes well,’ the former Anambra State Governor said, “Again, in a bitter twist of irony, we thank Nigeria for having the third-largest delegation at COP30, with 749 delegates, similar to China with 789 delegates.

“While Nigeria needs to have a strong voice in global climate discussions, this spectacle comes at a heavy cost to our people, with about 150 million living in multidimensional poverty, struggling daily with food insecurity, inadequate healthcare, and limited access to basic services.

“Yet, our leaders travel in large numbers, funded by taxpayers, attending climate talks abroad while the citizens they are meant to serve continue to suffer.

“Compared to China, which had about the same contingency, China has a high HDI, while Nigeria has a low one, with a key measure of life expectancy at the lowest 54 years, against China’s 79 years.”

Obi noted that China’s GDP stands at $18.74tn, while Nigeria’s is a little over $200bn, barely one per cent of that size.

He said China’s GDP per capita is about $13,300, whereas Nigeria’s is about 10 per cent of that.

According to him, 63 per cent of Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, which is about 150 million people, the highest number in the world, facing deprivations in health, education, and living standards, while it is only 3.9 per cent in China; meanwhile, China’s population is about seven times larger than ours.

“This stark contrast illustrates why Nigeria should not be sending a delegation of this size. The human and financial resources expended on hundreds of officials travelling abroad could instead be directed toward urgent social investments at home, improving healthcare, education, and living conditions to lift our people out of poverty,” Obi stated.

Nigeria’s party list for COP30 contains at least 1,452 names, drawn from the National Council on Climate Change, the Federal Ministry of Environment, other MDAs, the National Assembly, state governments, banks, oil and gas firms, consultancies, universities, and dozens of non-governmental organisations.

Many are recorded as “guests of the nominating entity” or as having “paid relationships/contracts with an affiliate,” indicating private or project funding rather than federal sponsorship.

Responding to uproar over Nigeria’s delegate size at the global event, Ajayi said most attendees worldwide are non-state actors, whose names are nonetheless counted under their countries of origin.

“A larger majority of attendees at COPs are usually CSOs, activists and private sector players. It is called the Conference of Parties for a reason. Participants are listed against their countries where they registered from,” he explained.

“If people from Environmental Right Action are attending, for example, and I know a number of friends from climate-focused non-governmental organisations in Brazil, their attendance will be registered against Nigeria because that is their country of origin and where they registered from. Does it mean the government paid for them? They are not sponsored by the government,” he added.

He said the same applies to prominent Nigerian business leaders who choose to attend the summit.

“If Dangote, Tony Elumelu or Kola Adesina, for example and other actors in the energy sector are attending COP, does it mean they are part of the government delegation or sponsored by the government?” he asked.

The aide faulted what he called “shallow commentary” around COP attendance, insisting that Nigeria must show up strongly where decisions on climate finance, carbon markets and energy transition are taken.

“There must be context and nuance to this type of analysis,” he added.

Another senior official in the presidency simply stated, “Not all those people who went there were sponsored by the government.”

In 2023, Nigeria’s delegation size at the COP28 Summit in Dubai attracted harsh criticism.

At the time, Ajayi noted that the delegates, who included those from Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region, were at the Summit to promote their respective causes.

However, the number of Nigerian delegates grew from 1,411 at COP28 to 1,453 at COP30.

An analysis of the delegate list published by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change revealed that 1,453 Nigerians registered for COP30, cutting across federal and state governments, parliament, academia, private sector and civil society. Seven hundred and forty-nine delegates are from various government agencies.

The single largest bloc was the core climate agencies including officials of the Federal Ministry of Environment, the National Council on Climate Change, NESREA, NOSDRA, NiMet, NIHSA and related climate-change project desks, comprising hundreds of directors, technical officers and advisers.

Energy and extractive regulators such as NNPC Ltd., NUPRC, NMDPRA, Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Ltd, PTDF and HYPREP were also on the delegation, alongside marine, ports, rail, aviation and water-resources agencies tied to blue-economy and decarbonisation plans.

Several states, including Lagos, Rivers, Delta, Kogi, Oyo, Kaduna, Borno, Nasarawa, Cross River and Akwa Ibom registered commissioners, permanent secretaries, climate directors and lawmakers.

National Assembly members and aides, finance, trade, power, solid minerals, agriculture, housing and youth MDAs, universities, standards bodies and development commissions were also on the list.

Asides from government agencies, private-sector energy and finance players, NGOs, youth and women’s networks, media organisations and professional bodies, as well as staff of Nigerian missions abroad were also on the list.

Most entries were tagged “guest of the nominating entity”, with others marked as contract/affiliate staff or partners and sponsors.