NiMet’s Director General/CEO Professor Mansur Bako Matazu has called for synergy and collaboration in the dissemination of early warning information. He made this appeal at the public presentation of the 2023 Climate-Related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategy Document by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). It held on Thursday 13th of April 2023 in Abuja.
He congratulated the Director General/CEO of NEMA Mustapha Habib Ahmed, staff and management for the timely production and release of their early action document. The release of NiMet 2023 SCP was followed by NIHSA Annual Flood Outlook (AFO). He further stated that NiMet SCP was used as input for the production of AFO, while both documents were relied upon in the production of NEMA’s 2023 Climate- Related Disaster Document.
This confirms that Nigeria is not only ready to align with United Nations’ Early Warning for All but shows good synergy for Early Action for Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation. Professor Matazu cited both UNICEF 2022 and Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development reports statistics as alarming. The statistics only buttress the impact of climate-related disasters while underscoring the imperativeness of continuous synergy between NiMet, NIHSA and NEMA.
Professor Matazu commended this strategic partnership and urged stakeholders to remain focused and unflinching while continuing to sensitize Nigerians on weather and climate-related issues via our various products and services. The convener of the event DG/CEO NEMA Mr Ahmed explained that following the early releases of NiMet’s SCP and NIHSA’s AFO a technical meeting of experts and relevant stakeholders was organized to appraise the risk and implication of these documents to form an early warning document.
He stated the document released is expected to aid organizations responsible for risk mitigation prepare actions that will safeguard lives, livelihoods, properties and the environment against Hydrometeorological hazards expected during the 2023 rainy season. He reiterated that NEMA believes that early warning must be matched with early action and enjoined State Governments that are yet to establish Local Emergency Committees (LEMCs) to urgently do so. The 2023 Climate-Related Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Strategy Document was formally presented.
