The director-general of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and Nigeria’s permanent representative to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Prof. Charles Anosike, was among the distinguished Nigerians and professionals conferred with the prestigious Honorary Fellowship (HFCRM) of the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI).
The conferment was a highlight of the institute’s 23rd annual international conference, themed “Emerging Crises in Africa: Way Forward.” The event took place in Lagos. During the ceremony, the Registrar of the institute, Dr. Victor Olannye, announced that this was the first time the institute had awarded honorary fellowships to deserving Nigerians.
In his remarks, the president and chairman of the council of the institute, Dr. Ezekiel Oseni stated that the honorees were carefully selected and approved by the council for their significant contributions to the risk management profession and the development of the country.
Other recipients of the Honorary Fellowship included deputy governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso; Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),Dr. Zaccheus Adedeji; Director-general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama; MD/CEO of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi; GMD/CEO of Zenith Bank, Dame Adaora Umeoji; MD/CEO of Access Bank, Dr. Roosevelt Ogbonna and MD/CEO of Fidelity Bank, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe.
In his acceptance speech, Anosike thanked the institute for the recognition and highlighted NiMet’s role in promoting climate action in Nigeria.
“NiMet, as a federal government agency, is at the forefront of promoting climate actions in Nigeria. Our ongoing collaborations with various agencies have been crucial in enhancing climate knowledge, climate risk management, disaster risk preparedness, and climate awareness, among other areas. We are currently working on several climate initiatives, including the national rollout of the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. This initiative aims to develop a formal roadmap to ensure that warnings of all multi-hazard hydrometeorological events reach vulnerable populations. Additionally, we are advancing the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) and adapting the WMO Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) to Nigeria’s needs,” Anosike said.
He further emphasised the importance of NiMet’s annual Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) as a critical early warning tool for national climate actions. “We will continue to drive the key components of early warning—risk knowledge, monitoring, observation, and dissemination. For the SCP and other early warning products from NiMet to be effective, these warnings must be matched with early actions by all stakeholders to mitigate the associated risks and build a more resilient society,” he concluded.
