The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Charles Anosike

  • DG/CEO Anosike Elected President ECOWAS Committee of Directors of National Hydrological and Meteorological Services

    DG/CEO Anosike Elected President ECOWAS Committee of Directors of National Hydrological and Meteorological Services

    Professor Charles Anosike, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer, & Permanent Representative of Nigeria with WMO, has been elected President of the ECOWAS Committee of Directors of National Hydrological and Meteorological Services (NMHSs). His election took place during the Committee’s 14th Meeting, which was held from 20 to 22 May 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria.

    The Committee, comprising heads of NMHSs across West Africa, promotes regional collaboration on weather, climate, and water services, with a focus on early warning systems, disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience under the ECOWAS Hydromet Initiative.

    In his acceptance remarks, Professor Anosike reaffirmed his dedication to strengthening regional cooperation: “As we confront the challenges of climate change, our collective action is crucial. I am honoured to lead this Committee at such a pivotal time.”

    Read Also: NiMET strike: United Nigeria Airlines assures passengers of safety

    Delegates from ECOWAS member states—Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Cape Verde (virtually)—attended, along with partners including WMO, ACMAD, AGRHYMET, WASCAL, ECOWAS Commission, the World Bank, and MOWCA.

    The meeting was officially opened by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, alongside Dr. Ibrahim Kana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry. A key highlight was the review of the “Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL)” initiative, targeting full regional implementation by 2027.

    Prof. Anosike’s election underscores Nigeria’s regional leadership and commitment to advancing climate action, innovation, and coordination among NMHSs in West Africa.

  • NiMet boss Anosike tours Northwest zonal office facilities

    NiMet boss Anosike tours Northwest zonal office facilities

    The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has begun a tour of the Northwest zonal headquarters.

    The tour would enable him to ascertain firsthand the state of equipment and facilities while he interacts with agency’s workers in the region.

    The Northwest zonal tour is in continuation of the CEO’s tour of NiMet’s facilities and workers across the country.

    On arrival at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport zonal headquarters of the agency, Anosike and his team were hosted by the Meteorological Manager, Adewara Hassan, and the State Meteorological Inspector (SMI), Mr. Banky Jonathan, as well as other members of staff.

    Anosike toured NiMet’s critical assets needed to keep maintaining aviation safety,  including the METEO station located at the airport’s tarmac area, the pilot briefing rooms at both the domestic and international wings of the airport and other facilities.

    During an interactive session with the workers, Anosike assured them of the continued support of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    He said: “I am impressed with what we have seen during our tour. The Northwest zonal office of NiMet is well organised, even though many of our instruments, as observed, are not working due to lack of transparency in documentation, vandalisation and, in some cases, sabotage.

    Read Also: Lent/Ramadan: Pray for peace, unity, Olu Alo urges Nigerians

    “I thank our scientists, observers, forecasters, engineers, and all the staff working in the region for their dedication and commitment despite noted challenges.”

    The NiMet CEO urged the workers to ensure that equipment and other facilities under their care are optimally protected and maintained. “Meteorology is the foundation of aviation safety protocols. Aviation can never be safe if meteorology services are not done optimally. The Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano has a special status as a flight information region. We have to ensure that the investments government is making in replacing obsolete and damaged equipment are protected.

    “We have to hold our contractors more accountable and ensure that the equipment they supply and install meet the standards and specifications and that the contractors carry out the contracted training of our staff on the use of such equipment. The era of installing equipment without training and then the contractor disappearing is over. We need our staff in the regions to enforce this,” he added.

    Anosike’s entourage included Abdulkareem Hamid Olayinka (Director of Engineering and Technical Services), Prof. Vincent Weli (Director of Weather Forecasting Services), Cyprian Okpalaku (Special Adviser to the DG/CEO of NiMet on Information Communications Technology) and Dr. Haruna Zakari (Technical Assistant to the DG/CEO of NiMet).

  • Our partnership with varsities will benefit farmers – NiMet’s Anosike

    Our partnership with varsities will benefit farmers – NiMet’s Anosike

    The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike has said that the agency’s partnerships with universities and other institutions of higher learning would benefit farmers and people living in agrarian communities. 

    Anosike said this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NiMet and Taraba State University on Thursday. 

     According to him: “NiMet’s network of university partners is increasing. This adds to the weather and climate data available to us in addition to the data being generated by our agency-owned weather stations. 

    Read Also: Tinubu congratulates Bishop Oke on re-election as PFN president

    “These various data enrich the accuracy of our weather forecasts in fulfillment of our mandate. These ultimately benefit the local farmers and other users”. 

    Anosike concluded that the agency would continue to monitor the performances of the MoUs signed with universities and other higher institutions to ensure that all the parties are fulfilling their obligations. 

    Responding, the Vice Chancellor of Taraba State University, Professor Sunday Paul Bako said that the aim of partnering with NiMet is to be able to meet the needs of the immediate university community and the larger community which is agrarian.

     “We have departments of Geography, Agriculture, and others including Ecotourism at the Taraba State University that would benefit from the partnership and intervention. 

    “Our agricultural faculty runs extension programs so with the data generated from the weather station, we can raise awareness on sustainable farming and climate-smart practices,” he said. 

    This MoU is for four years and renewable. The overall objective of the collaboration Is the promotion of activities relating to meteorology/climatology, and climate change in Nigeria, enhancing the capacity of the parties to provide relevant tools that will enhance the delivery of products and services to various sectors related to meteorology/climatology and climate change in Nigeria.

  • NiMet DG: translation of meteorological data empowers farmers

    NiMet DG: translation of meteorological data empowers farmers

    Translation of meteorological data into actionable insights enables farmers to make climate-smart decisions, Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has said.

    He spoke at a chief executive officers’ breakfast session in Abuja.

    Organised by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), its theme was: “Elevating the role of data and information in the national food security conversation.”

    According to Anosike, the food system is increasingly threatened by climate change, and with heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, it is essential to empower farmers with weather information.

    He restated NiMet’s commitment to providing timely data-driven solutions to curbing contemporary climate issues and boosting agricultural productivity.

    Read Also; Tunji-Ojo, Correctional Service and global standard

    “The global climate system is very complex and cannot be controlled or managed by one institution or country.

    “To be able to influence that system, we have to understand how the system behaves and that is where meteorology comes in.

    “Meteorology brings climate science and data in support of climate disaster and climate change adaption,” he said.

    Noting that climate change can impact soil fertility and spread plant pests and diseases, he highlighted the integral role of meteorological and climatological data as a crucial element of national food systems data and information tools.

    “Climate data are used for the production of various types of forecast, from seasonal to sub-seasonal and short-range forecasts that impact agricultural production system through the value chain.

    “Using such data to predict critical components of the seasonal prediction is critical to agriculture such as the onset of the season, projected end of the season, amount of rainfall for the season, length of the season, and the predicted dry spell,” he said.

    Anosike stressed that meteorological and climatological data are integral components of national food systems.

    “The integration of these datasets enables stakeholders at all levels from farmers to policymakers to make informed decisions that enhance resilience against climate variability while promoting sustainable agricultural practices,” Anosike added.

    Senior Programme Officer for Agriculture at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Audu Grema, applauded NiMet and acknowledged the agency’s collaborative endeavours geared towards predictive analysis, providing early warning signals and ensuring industry best practices which are central to development planning.

  • NiMet boss canvasses risk management integration for financial regulators

    NiMet boss canvasses risk management integration for financial regulators

    The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has urged financial regulators and other stakeholders to integrate climate risk management in their financial reporting.

    Anosike spoke yesterday in Lagos as the guest of honour at the Regulatory Roundtable on the implementation of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) sustainability reporting in Nigeria, organised by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC).

    Te NiMet boss hailed the FRC Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, for holding the roundtable.

    “This is a great feat by the FRC and the Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr. Rabiu Olowo. I have been in the sustainability profession for quite a while now and we couldn’t get this done over ten years ago.

    Read Also; Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea to sign youth development agreement

    “Climate change has become a top priority for our leaders in financial institutions. Because climate change is a threat multiplier, it calls for a new epistemology of risk that acknowledges not just the uncertainty but also the anthropogenic factors.

    “The systemic risk of climate change explains why it is in the interest of regulators to ensure that climate risks, both current and future, are identified and disclosed by institutions,” Anosike said.

    The NiMet boss noted that due to the strategic importance of climate risk, with regard to transition to net zero, the regulators needed to integrate climate risk management.

    “It is incumbent for financial regulators to include environmental factors, such as accounting for precipitation and temperature variability in addition to water availability and the overall climate science that supports adaptation and mitigation measures.

    “We thank Dr. Rabiu and FRC for making good their promise that NiMet will be at the table for these conversations,” he added.