Many African governments are explaining their choice to send a lot of people to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, even though many people are not happy about it.
The UN’s list showed that Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Uganda sent the most people.
Nigeria sent 1,411 people, Morocco sent 823, and Kenya sent 765.
Officials from Nigeria and Kenya said that some of their delegates were not paid for by the government because they were representing the media, non-profit organizations, and private companies.
Both countries also said that some of the people on the list are joining in from a different location.
Nigeria is the largest country in Africa and has the biggest economy. Because it has a lot of natural resources, it is important for Nigeria to take action on climate change. That’s why they will have more delegates at a meeting than any other African country. This was said by an adviser to Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu.
Kenya’s State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed said on a TV station that the number of people at the event was not as high as reported because it included those who signed up but didn’t actually go.
He said that the national government had only approved 51 important representatives and the other ones had been supported by different groups.
The Tanzanian government said that over 90% of its delegations were paid for by private companies.