Yemi Olakitan
A senator of the Federal Republic, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South at the National Assembly has said the 422 persons funded by the federal government to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) Summit in Dubai was too small.
He was speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Monday when he made the statement.
Ibrahim said, “Funding (over) 400 people for a conference such as is too small, because you may want to host the conference sometime in the future.”
He said the number of delegates has an influence on knowledge sharing at the event, adding that Nigeria is suffering from the impact of environmental pollution and needs knowledgeable people to manage the crisis.
Ibrahim said, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed many multimillion-dollar bilateral deals at the summit which according to him will be to the benefit of the common man in Nigeria.
The lawmaker said the international community wouldn’t take Tinubu seriously if he were in Dubai with a lean delegation.
Jimoh Ibrahim also spoke at the ongoing COP 28 in Dubai, and emphasized the need for African countries to sign climate change liability contracts with all developed countries that are responsible for carbon emissions on the continent due to damage caused by industrial waste and emissions in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
He opined that developed countries must compensate Africa for carbon emissions on the continent.
He disagreed with attempts by advanced nations whose activities are causing carbon emissions to merely engage in climate change discourse and evade issues that bother with signing liability agreements.
The lawmaker, who is in company with President Tinubu for COP28, stressed the need for developed countries to sign liability agreements with African countries on climate change.
He noted that if developed countries paid compensation to African countries for the impact of climate change on the continent, it would help Africa offset its huge foreign debt.
Ibrahim said, “We don’t produce cars in Africa, but the whole world uses cars. These cars are produced in Germany, America, Russia, China, and India.
“Imagine the number of cars in the world and the resultant consequences of burning fossil fuel are the climatic disasters we are faced with in Africa.
“Many people on the continent of Africa are currently facing unexplainable medical issues that defy treatments as a result of inhaling carbon dioxide rather than oxygen.”
“It is a proven fact that emissions from developed countries do not need to visit Nigeria’s embassy or any African countries’ embassies before gaining entry into the continent. It is imperative and a matter of urgency for developed countries to sign liability agreements with African countries that bear the brunts of their activities to cushion the effects economically, he said.