•Nigeria to benefit from $100bn Paris Agreement on Climate Change
From Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari is firmly behind the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu in the February 25 election.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this at the 22nd edition of the PMB Administration scorecard series, clarifying Buhari was in total support of the APC flag bearer.
Mohammed on Wednesday had said the president was more committed to a free and fair election and was not favouring any of the candidates.
At yesterday’s meeting, the minister however said: “Yesterday (Wednesday, February 1, 2023) while reacting to a question at the post-FEC briefing at the State House, I said, inter alia, that Mr. President is committed to a free, fair and credible elections, and that he is doing everything possible to ensure a level-playing field for all contestants. This comment has been misinterpreted in some circles, especially with regards to Mr. President’s support for the presidential candidate of our party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Well, I want to say, unequivocally, that Mr. President is in total support of our party’s flagbearer and that is attested to by his continuing campaign with the candidate across the country. It is preposterous to even suggest that Mr. President, who is the leader of our party, is equivocating on his support for our presidential candidate. I hope this clears any ambiguity that may have arisen from my statement yesterday.”
Meanwhile, in his presentation at the event, Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, said Nigeria will benefit from the $1 billion Paris Agreement on Climate Change commitment. He said developed countries have realised that Nigeria is hard hit by climate change which is being exploited by terrorists.
He added that one of the driving forces of Boko Haram activities and terror in Nigeria was linked to the shrinking of the Lake Chad Basin, which has deprived 50-60 million people of their livelihood.
Onyema also said President Buhari deployed diplomatic engagements to end activities of the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East.
The minister recalled that before the Buhari administration came on hoard in 2015 the threats posed by Boko Haram had become alarming, as the insurgent group had taken over some parts of Nigerian territory.
He said upon assumption of office, the President personally engaged with Nigeria’s neighbours -Cameroon, Chad, Benin Republic and Niger Republic – to engender renewed efforts in countering terrorism in the Lake Chad region.