A Nigerian lawmaker, Terseer Ugbor, has said he plans to push for efficient mobilisation of the Loss and Damage fund being pledged at the ongoing ongoing 28th meeting of the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP28) for the benefits of vulnerable Nigerian communities.
Mr Ugbor, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Environment, who is part of Nigeria’s delegation to COP28 in Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, said the fund will help to alleviate sufferings of climate frontline communities in Nigeria.
He said this on Friday in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on the sidelines of the conference.
This followed the adoption of the new Loss and Damage Fund operationalisation by delegates at the opening plenary of the summit on Thursday.

“My agenda at COP28 is to ensure that the Loss and Damage Fund is effectively mobilised to bolster adaptation and relief efforts in Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Ugbor, who is the House of Representatives member representing the Kwande/Ushongo constituency of Benue State, said he will push for allocation of the funds to building resilient agricultural practices, support displaced communities, and mitigate the deepening farmer-herder conflicts in Nigeria.
Operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28
The yearnings and aspirations of climate vulnerable countries, particularly in Africa, prior to the commencement of COP28 are to see to the operationalisation of the historic loss and damage fund established at COP27 in Egypt last year.
This came to fruition on Thursday at the opening plenary of COP28 after delegates adopted a loss and damage operationalisation agenda. Just after that, high-income countries began to make pledges in solidarity with the new funds, with over $500 million pledged so far.
This has been described as a historic moment for climate action globally, particularly in climate-vulnerable countries, and the first big win ever recorded on the first day in the history of COP negotiations.
Many climate activists have lauded the move by the world leaders, saying the adoption of the new fund initiative will help to galvanise climate-resilient development for developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

However, there are lingering concerns.
Concerns
Reacting to the loss and damage fund operationalisation, Nnimmo Bassey, director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), said COP28 is running on a basic agenda that is destined to leave the planet on life support in the best outcome scenario.
He said the COP also appears to favour false solutions such as carbon offsetting and related but unproven techno-fixes.

While noting the significant strides that greeted the COP28 opening plenary and pledges made so far, Mr Bassey said cash pledges made so far is still a drop in the ocean of the needed $400 billion per year.
“Although some would applaud the token offered so far, we do not ignore the fact that $400 million may just be equal to the price of one missile which the big polluters do not blink before exploding in territories to create more vulnerability rather than invert in building of resilience,” he said.

The environmentalist said: “It is conceivable that the pledges would be met by proceeds from the patently speculatory carbon trading that is seeing huge swathes of African land being grabbed in ways that can best be described as carbon colonialism.”
Significance for Nigeria
On Friday, Mr Ugbor told this medium that the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28 is a pivotal development for the Northern and Central regions of Nigeria like Benue State.

The Democratic Republic of Congo will hold General Elections on December 20, 2023. That is less than three weeks from today. President Felix Antoine Tshilombo wa Tshisekedi is seeking re-election for a second and last term of office. He is challenged by over a dozen candidates. 

However, there are three main challengers namely Martin Fayulu (the man Tshisekedi defeated in the last presidential elections), Moise Katumbi (the former governor of Katanga Province) and Dr Denis Mukwege (Nobel Peace laureate better known for his activism against sexual abuse).Congolese elections are (and should be) an internal matter for the Congolese. Indeed. But these elections have attracted more interest in the regional capitals than any other elections in the post-Mobutu era.

Museveni had been engaging DR Congo leadership in formal diplomacy. There was what I have always called Museveni’s Congolese Roads and Operation Shujaa. Even the International Court of Justice judgment debt Uganda owed the DR Congo had been leveraged into this new diplomacy. Then M23 happened. At the beginning of this year, I wrote about a WhatsApp group of angry Rwandan refugees. One of its members asked the question: what if President Felix Tshilombo Tshisekedi lost the 2023 presidential elections? I was quick to respond that the right question should be: “what would Mr Museveni not do if President Tshisekedi were to lose the 2023 elections? Most of the members argued that Kigali would not allow Kampala to upstage it in Kinshasa. They (Kigali) would do anything if Kampala intervened in Kinshasa in a manner that reflects regional big brother. And dear readers, that was even before our friends in M23 made their recent resurrection.

When M23 happened, Kampala was ambiguous. For fear that open condemnation of M23 would expose Uganda to a confrontation with the Republic of Rwanda, Mr Museveni deftly chose to hide behind the façade of the East African Community. Knowing that diplomacy in these climes doesn’t work without the men of metal, Mr Museveni rallied the East African Community to raise a force. Good diplomacy (given the circumstances). Yet President Tshisekedi and the entire leadership in Kinshasa had expected open and unequivocal condemnation of the M23 as an expression of support for Kinshasa. That was not to come. Neither has Museveni’s idea to have an East African regional force in DR Congo worked.

Question is: what if President Tshisekedi wins the presidential elections on December 20, 2023? The rumour in Kinshasa is that Operation Shujaa would be reviewed towards UPDF’s exit from Congolese soil. The more outrageous thinking (which by all means is a fringe position) is that the Democratic Republic of Congo would consider exiting the East African Community. Yet Mr Tshisekedi is the best bet for Uganda. In fact Mr Museveni should be praying that Mr Tshisekedi wins. Otherwise the three main challengers are framed by the Congolese as people who would be inclined to seek closer ties elsewhere (far from Museveni).

Museveni’s attempt to seek refuge in the East African Regional diplomacy to handle M23 was unable to sort stuff creating a sense of ambiguity among the Congolese leadership who had expected him to offer open ended support. The deployment of the SADC forces (which was an exclusive initiative of President Tshisekedi outside the East African Community ‘bullies’). This is expected to bolster his holding in the region as a man who is not beholden to any of the bullying warrior presidents of East Africa.

On the other hand, Kigali would rather Tshisekedi doesn’t win. The diplomatic relations between the two countries are at their lowest; blamed on the characters of the two presidents.

The Italian carded a second consecutive 68 at Blair Atholl Golf & Equestrian Estate on Friday to share second place on eight under behind Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, who returned a 67.

The 30-year-old won the Silver Medal for leading amateur in the 2009 Open and turned professional the following year, becoming the youngest winner in European Tour history at just 17 in the Castello Masters.

He also became the youngest winner of the European Tour’s PGA Championship in 2013, but that remains his last top-tier victory to date and he lost his card in 2019 after making just one cut in 18 events.

Two wins on the Challenge Tour this season helped Manassero regain his playing privileges and he is relishing the opportunity to challenge for an overdue fifth DP World Tour title this weekend.

“It was a solid round, even better than yesterday probably if I have to pick one of the two,” Manassero said after a 68 containing five birdies and one bogey.

“I’m happy with my start of the tournament and then of course, once the weekend comes, it’s like a little tournament inside a tournament.

“We’ll take it day by day, shot by shot even, but I am pleased with the way my game has developed the last few days.

“It’s always nice to be in this position, to be in the top 10 and seeing the leaders not far away from you. There will be good things [this weekend] whatever the outcome may be.”

South Africa’s Casey Jarvis and Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren are alongside Manassero on eight under, with defending champion Thriston Lawrence another five strokes back.