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NiMET DG seeks collaboration with other agencies on disaster risk reduction, climate change
Meteorology plays major role in solid minerals development in Nigeria…NiMet DG/CEO
NiMet epitomises commercialization of Meteorological data, capacity development
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet),has epitomises the commercialization of meteorological data and staff capacity development,
In line with the vision of the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, SAN, for the aviation sector., NiMET led by the Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Charles Anosike determined to achieve the feat
The Minister had charged Aviation agencies to prioritize staff welfare including training etc, improvement in safety, increase in internally generated revenue amongst others.
It is along this line that the management organized a training and interactive session between officials of the agency and officials of Tomorrow.io, a Boston, Massachusetts, USA – based weather intelligence company.
The session was held on Thursday, 25th January, 2024, at NiMet headquarters in Abuja, one day after NiMet and Tomorrow.io had signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a whole range of areas including commercializing weather data, improving accuracy of weather and climate forecasts, and application of artificial intelligence (Ai) in weather and climate intelligence.
NiMet pacts with Tomorrow.IO on digital weather, climate intelligence
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a leading weather intelligence company, Tomorrow.io.
The MoU with Tomorrow.io, a leading weather intelligence company based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, with footprints across Africa and the Middle East, will see NiMet and the firm collaborate on a whole range of areas including commercializing weather data, improving accuracy of weather and climate forecasts, and application of artificial intelligence (Ai) in weather and climate intelligence.
Speaking at the MoU signing at NiMet in Abuja today headquarters in Abuja today, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike said; “We have found good partners in Tomorrow.io. We are aspiring to actualize the mandate given to NiMet by the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, on revenue generation and improved safety of the aviation sector. This MoU will help us achieve that”.
“As an agency, NiMet is already doing a lot. We are always on the lookout for partners that will help us improve and expand on our services. Ai and technology are playing leading roles in weather and climate forecasts.
“This partnership with Tomorrow.io will help us to do more for our various stakeholders across the socio-economic sectors we serve including aviation, agriculture, marine, oil and gas, construction, academia etc”.
Speaking, Mr Yaniv Gelnik, Director of Africa Expansion at Tomorrow.io said that experience from Kenya and in the other countries they serve shows that it’s possible to downscale weather and climate information daily to users especially farmers in usable formats.
This will help them in planning. Farmers will be able to receive via their mobile handsets weather intelligence daily, wherever they are and in a language of their choice. That’s part of the value proposition that Tomorrow.io is bringing to the partnership with NiMet. Ai allows for precise, unique, efficient and faster weather and climate forecasts compared to current systems and models. This will be of immense value to NiMet’s value-chain stakeholders”.
NiMet parleys Stakeholders On 2024 Seasonal Climate Prediction
By Favour Nnabugwu
Ahead of the public presentation of 2024 seasonal climate prediction (SCP), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, hosted stakeholders in Abuja, to discuss the socio-economic impact of the SCP.
The stakeholders who cut across different sectors of the economy ranging from aviation, agriculture, oil and gas, construction, marine, insurance and financial services, tourism, academia and so on, yesterday praised NiMet for its invaluable services towards Nigeria’s economic development, through release of the SCP over the years.
It will be recalled that in 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), released a statement which said; “By heeding to NiMet’s advisory in 2022 on flood prediction in the country, we saved the country more than N120bn”.
While welcoming the stakeholders, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has clearly outlined his government’s eight-point agenda aimed at moving the Nigerian economy forward through Food Security, Ending Poverty, Economic Growth, Job Creation, among others. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) through actualisation of its mandate is climate proofing the economy by providing timely weather and climate information”.
Continuing, he said; “Over the years the SCP has evolved in scope, including the concept of co-production which is adequately supported by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
“This allows critical stakeholders to be part of the production process of weather and climate information in order to increase the depth of knowledge, improve accuracy and enhance relevance of information provided. This concept also makes the stakeholders to co-own the weather and climate information generated”.
Concluding, Prof. Anosike said; “As we collectively take a deep look at the draft 2024 SCP to enrich it, especially the socio-economic implication, relying on our years of knowledge, expertise, and experience in our various fields, I hope that by the end of the stakeholders meeting, we would have produced a document that is scientific, relevant and actionable. Together, we will be proud of being part of a climate resilient socioeconomic development of our dear nation, Nigeria”.
The Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo said; “All economic sectors are affected by weather and climate. This poses financial risks to governments, individuals and organizations. Climate information helps to mitigate and reduce the impact. I commend the Nigerian Meteorological Authority (NiMet) for the excellent job it is doing regarding Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP).
I further acknowledge the positive impact the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) has had on Aviation safety. For example, NCAA has found the annual SCP released by NiMet to be very useful in issuing Advisory Circulars to warn Pilots and Operators of the inherent dangers associated with the onset of rainy season and the harmattan season.
These Circulars have provided appropriate guidance to assist in preventing accidents and incidents which would otherwise be caused by thunderstorms and dust haze during their respective seasons. This, invariably, has reduced incidents/accidents associated with adverse weather to zero in Nigeria over the years”.
Concluding, Capt. Najomo encouraged NiMet to provide data that shows the level of accuracy of the SCP, for instance, in terms of number of Wind Shear phenomena recorded at airports across the country due to thunderstorm activities.
“The NCAA calls for enlightenment on efforts being made by NiMet to (1) ensure Aerodrome Met Office
personnel possess a good understanding of thunderstorm events and (2) efforts to provide appropriate equipment that easily detect and accurately predict such events.
I charge NiMet to consolidate on its compliance with the provisions of Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations Part 14.6 –
Aeronautical Meteorological Services – particularly with respect to training of personnel and modernization of observing, forecasting and data gathering techniques, dissemination and storage equipment/instruments for flight planning and aerodrome development in Nigeria”.
The representative of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Nigeria, Dr. Bernard Gomez commended NiMet as it has been issuing the seasonal climate prediction for 10 years.
“WMO has established a protocol that mandates users of climate and weather information to co-produce. NiMet is following this protocol so as to meet the needs of the stakeholders. The agency can not do this alone hence the need to partner and collaborate with sectoral”.
“The stakeholders forum serves as a feedback mechanism for NiMet as it produces the final SCP draft. Stakeholders must ensure that the final SCP product meets everybody’s expectations”, Mr Gomez concluded.
The Director General of Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), Engineer Clement Nze, represented by the Acting Director of Hydrogeoinfomatics, Bashir Suleiman, said that the stakeholders meeting was timely. “NIMet is fulfilling its mandate by bringing the stakeholders together. NIHSA is pleased to be part of this especially in the area of flood predictions”.
The Executive Director of Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Mr Arigbabu Sulaimon, congratulated NiMet for keeping to time regarding the impending release of SCP.
“NiMet’s work is critical to the protection of livelihoods of people and also diversifying the economy of Nigeria. It’s not only the aviation sector that benefits greatly from NiMet’s services, the food and agricultural sector benefits too”.
In his goodwill message, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Captain Alex Badeh Jnr., represented by Mr Abdulsalam Abubakar, AGM Operations in the agency, appreciated NiMet for keeping to standards through the yearly and timely release of SCP. He said that NSIB has always collaborated with NiMet and assured that the partnership will continue.
The public presentation of NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Prediction holds on Tuesday, 20th February, 2024, as approved by the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, SAN.
NiMET parleys with NIM on training
FAAN to relocate headquarters from Abuja to Lagos, gives reasons
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN has consented to the directive of the authority to move it’s corporate headquarters back to Lagos
FAAN gave reason why the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, was in the best interest of the organisation to relocate the corporate Headquarters of FAAN from Abuja to its original base, Lagos.
FAAN wishes to inform Nigerians that following wide consultations by the new Management of FAAN with stakeholders, which also involved the Unions, it was agreed that this was in the best interest of the Authority and the country for now for the following reasons:
Those affected by the decision to move the headquarters to Abuja have since returned to Lagos as there is no office space for them in Abuja. It was ill-advised in the first place to move the headquarters to Abuja when there was no single FAAN building in Abuja to accommodate all of them at once.
Having returned to Lagos, the Authority would be liable to pay them DTA (DUTY TOUR ALLOWANCE) because technically they are working OUT OF STATION as their official posting is to ABUJA. The Minister has decided to stop this waste of public resources and rip-off on the public purse.
The other option open to the Authority was abandon the old FAAN building in Lagos to rot away and to use its scarce resources to rent an office space in Abuja for Millions of Naira of public money when in actual fact more than sixty percent of its activities are in Lagos given the huge passenger volume of the Lagos airports. The stakeholders and the Minister decided against that and to save the country this waste.
NiMet DG Anosike says new mgt to strengthen, reposition operations
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has said that the focus of the new management is to strengthen the operations of the agency and reposition it for improved service delivery.
Professor Anosike was speaking on Monday, 8th January, 2024, while declaring open a 3-day NiMet management retreat in Abuja.
“The overriding objective of the 2024 NiMet management retreat is to strengthen collaborative relationships amongst staff of the agency. It’s time to dismantle the imaginary walls and silos built internally over the years which has been stifling productivity. The retreat will give us all a good understanding of the work NiMet does. The science of meteorology should be treated and handled with all seriousness because of its importance and impact on lives, properties and on the economy”.
Continuing, Professor Anosike encouraged the participants to be active during the retreat and make contributions that will help NiMet to achieve its mandate efficiently. “Despite prevailing economic challenges, there are opportunities in the external environment for NiMet. We should aim to reduce wastages in our operations, prioritize spending, and improve our internally generated revenue”.
Concluding, Professor Anosike reminded the participants that although NiMet’s services are directly related to weather and climate in Nigeria, however, forces that drive environmental changes have shown that NiMet’s activities impact all aspects of the Nigerian economy”.