The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at collaborating to assist the 36 states of the federation in implementing climate-smart information and standard meteorological services.
This initiative will focus on crucial sectors, including agriculture, telecommunications, marine, oil and gas, mining, aviation, disaster management and other areas of the economy.
The MoU was signed in Abuja on Wednesday, December 18, 2024. Director-general and CEO of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike expressed gratitude to the governors of the 36 states, the chairman of the NGF, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and the NGF team for the opportunity to enhance collaboration between both parties.
“This is a key piece of the puzzle we’ve been trying to solve. Scaling up access to weather information is essential, not only for farmers but also for managing our state airports. Without NiMet’s data, we cannot operate flights. Therefore, this relationship is critical for us,” Anosike stated.
He further informed the NGF team that the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, has approved the date for the public presentation of the 2025 NiMet Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP). “The 2025 NiMet SCP will be unveiled on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. NiMet cannot implement downscaling without the support of state governments. Signing this MoU is a significant milestone for us and we thank the NGF team for this opportunity,” Anosike concluded.
In response, the director-general of the NGF, Alhaji Abdulateef Shittu acknowledged the importance of formalising the 10-year-old relationship between the NGF and the agency.
“NiMet is doing an admirable job. We still have access to NiMet’s forecasts from 10 years (ago) in our libraries. We are excited about signing this MoU, as it will enable us to work together for the benefit of Nigeria and our communities. The collaboration between NiMet and the NGF will provide essential meteorological and climatological data related to agricultural activities and will contribute to the development of climate change indices and their impact across the 36 states of the federation,” Shittu stated.
