A government spokesperson, Kofi Tonto, has explained that Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, was not an official government delegate at the ongoing COP28 summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Tonto explained on the December 4, 2023, edition of TV3’s New Day morning programme that Mrs. Bawumia’s trip was sponsored by groups she had been engaged in climate change advocacy with over the years.

He stressed that while he was not justifying the size of Ghana’s delegation, put at 618 delegates, it was important to set the records straight particularly on the participation of Samira Bawumia.

An opposition Member of Parliament, Murtala Mohammed, while criticizing the size of the government delegation quizzed the propriety of sending multiple ministers with the same portfolios in some instances before singling out why the Second Lady for instance was attending.

“The government didn’t sponsor Samira to go to COP. Samira has been engaged in a lot of climate work activity… Just do a cursory look on her social media, you will see that Samira has been doing climate work for the longest time,” he defended.

Aside from that, she is even engaged in clean cooking, "part of climate change is ensuring accessible, sustainable, affordable and clean cooking fuels for African women and children,” he read from one of Samira’s social media posts.

He also referenced the fact that Samira Bawumia, even before Dubai, was present at Pre-COP28 meetings in Ghana; which meetings the host of the programme attested had taken place.

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