The Presidency has reacted to the public outrage over President Bola Tinubu’s 1,411 delegates to the COP28 Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Reacting to the outrage in a post via his X handle on Sunday, the presidential aide, Dada Olusegun, said the summit is not specific to government officials or civil servants.

Olusegun said the United Nations (UN) requested several of these bodies and private sector members to send a list of their delegates, with most of them to be sponsored by the World Bank, European Union, and others.

The presidential aide said the federal government is only responsible for catering for its immediate staff, which is a very tiny portion of the total delegates.

He noted that while there may be reservations about those on the delegate list, President Tinubu is not insensitive to allow such wastage at this point when he is leading the charge to cut wasteful spending.

He wrote: The Climate Change Summit is not specific to just government officials. It also includes those of the National Council on Climate Change, the Federal Ministry of Environment, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NSIAs, NGOs, and many others.

“The United Nations sent a request to several of these bodies to send a list of their delegates, with most of them to be sponsored by the World Bank, European Union, and others.

“This request was also extended to several private sector members, including Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu, and many others.

“Nigeria’s delegation list is unified, including both government and non-government representatives. This means every name under Nigeria is categorised as “Nigeria’s Delegation,” whether from a Ministry, NGO, Private Sector, Parastals, or part of the “President’s delegation.”

“Individuals of the same Nationality (Nigeria) can be sponsored by foreign organisations as NGOs will also take on their expenses.

“In the Nigerian Pavilion at COP 28, hundreds of panels have been held, coordinated by different ministries, private sectors, academia, and CSOs.

“During the summit, invited ministers MUST participate at different times in the program, which is divided according to schedule.

“FG is ONLY responsible for catering for its immediate staff, which is a very tiny portion of the total delegates.

“While there may be reservations about who has been nominated by certain NGOs, it is important to understand that President Tinubu is not insensitive to allow such wastage at this point in time when he is leading the charge to cut wasteful spending on subsidies and foreign exchange which has a direct impact on the citizens.

“We look forward to recording more gains from the event as it gets wrapped up soon. President Tinubu will succeed!!