The minister of aviation, Mr. Hadi Sirika has attributed the meteorological development in Nigeria to the synergy between the political class and experts in the field.
The minister stated this in his address at the 76th session of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) executive council session held at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
He said Nigeria has had the right leadership to pilot the affairs of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).
“We strive to ensure we have the right leadership at the helm of affairs of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency and the agency…has also demonstrated commitment to excellence by judicious utilisation of resources, broad stakeholders’ engagements, and result-oriented goals with clearly detailed regular reporting,” he said.
The minister said he has a passion for meteorology adding that under his watch, NiMet has grown in size, visibility and relevance, not only in Nigerian but in the region and indeed globally.
Sirika announced that the agency had introduced new products including but are not limited to seasonal climate prediction, the state of the climate in Nigeria, climate and health bulletin, hydro meteorological bulletin, agro meteorological bulletin, extreme weather events bulletin, marine meteorological bulletin and 3-day impact-based forecast.
“These products and many more tailored services have generated lots of interest within the nation up to the presidency that culminated in the president personally commissioning a national Meteorological Institute of Science and Technology in his home State and in his honour,” he added.
He further said there is increased inter-agency synergy along the climate services value chain, bringing together the meteorological, hydrological, disaster management and all responders together as we develop and practice multi-hazard early warning system for all Nigerians.
He also said NiMet provided interventions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Malawi in terms of capacity building, technical assistance, quality management systems and competency framework.
Sirika said the current NiMet management “has also demonstrated commitment to excellence by judicious utilisation of resources, broad stakeholders’ engagements, and result-oriented goals with clearly detailed regular reporting.
The minister expressed appreciation to the WMO secretary general, Prof Petteri Taalas, whom he said “has shown tremendous support to the development of meteorology globally, in Africa and specifically in Nigeria.
“Not only were you available physically to sign the Host Country Agreement for the WMO Office in the Region for North, Central and West Africa but you have also supported us in our seasonal climate prediction,” he added.
He called on the WMO to intensify effort in encouraging cooperation among members and assist in bridging the existing gap between the political class and the experts on the field.
