The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has pledged to support The Gambia and other needy nations in the training of meteorological technicians.
The minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika, disclosed this at the inaugural graduation ceremony of middle level meteorological technicians trained by NiMet held in Banjul, The Gambia
He said the offer was meant to highlight the importance attached to the contribution of meteorology to sustainable socio-economic development, as well as safety of citizens.
“Aviation is a serious business with critical safety requirements and socio-economic impacts. Hence, personnel working on this sector must be highly skilled and competent,” said Sirika.
He said one of the instruments of the partnership was through the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) regional training centres and affiliated training institutes which the organisation encourages member countries to close the gap through increased cooperation and collective partnership such as the ongoing one between Nigeria and The Gambia.
The minister stated that NiMet was able to make headway due to massive support from federal government of Nigeria through the ministry of aviation via robust budgetary provisions.
He said a chunk of the operational funding for the agency comes from allocation from the contributory service basket provided to the aviation industry by the agencies in the ministry.
He praised the WMO for championing and supporting countries to effectively engage in public private partnerships.
“This is because the future of service provision and user interface should effectively move from a linear type of value chain to an interactive environment where systems, data, solutions…and users are contributing significantly to information management and weather and climate service-level products. These will contribute to capabilities towards meeting global targets of the sustainable development goals”.
“This vision is realisable where regular meetings with vulnerable sectors to promote interaction and strengthen the provision and utilisation of meteorological services exist.
“As a strategy to further strengthen the expansion of weather and climate services to vulnerable sectors and the user community, NiMet therefore realises that partnerships and engagement with the private sector cannot be overemphasised,” he added.
Sirika said the federal government has the appropriate legal framework that enables the NiMet to participate in collaborative and effective public-private-engagements.
“In the phase of dwindling revenue by Governments worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of PPE cannot be over-emphasised.
“Once trust has been established with appropriate legal document such as memorandum of understanding that is clear on the role of individual parties and sharing formula of all expected benefits, PPE is the way to go. This is another area; Nigeria can be of help,” he said.
The minister commended the government of The Gambia for taking the initiative to conceive the concept that led to the graduation ceremony.
For his part, the country’s minister, ministry of fisheries and water resources, Mr. James Furmus Peter Gomez, commended the Nigerian government saying the training partnership will further strengthen the cordial and fruitful bi-lateral ties that exist between the department of water resources and NiMet and by extension the two countries.
“The challenge of improving the resilience of communities to climate vulnerabilities, risks and disasters is a key element in the strategies and solutions envisioned by the government of The Gambia as stated in the national development plan as well as in both the agriculture and natural resources and national climate change policies.
“While the answer seems to be the existence of dedicated structures with an organizational system, the provision of adapted sectoral services to cope with extreme weather and climate risks is becoming increasingly important,” he said.
He added that The Gambian authority noted the efforts Nigeria was making towards the capacity development of its personnel in fundamental aspects of meteorological observations and forecasting, as well as quality management system, all geared towards meeting the standard set by WMO and ICAO.
“On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of The Gambia, I once again extend our sincere appreciation and gratitude to…Nigeria for the bi-lateral assistance it has been rendering in many ways to help improve the standard of the meteorological services in The Gambia.
“We particularly note the efforts you have been making towards the capacity development of our personnel in fundamental aspects of meteorological observations and forecasting, as well as quality management system, all geared towards meeting the standard set by the WMO and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
