Ken Okeke
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo and the Director General, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Professor Charles Anosike were among Nigerian delegation participating in the ongoing Aeronautical Meteorology Scientific Conference (AeroMetSci-2024) organized by the Commission for Weather, Climate, Hydrological, Marine and Related Environmental Services and Applications (SERCOM).
The conference which gathered professionals and industry players within the WMO, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Academics, Research, and Aviation Communities is holding at WMO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and lasts from 21 to 25 October 2024. The theme of the conference is: “Aviation, weather and climate: scientific research and development for enhanced aeronautical meteorological services in a changing climate”.
The objective of the conference is to showcase scientific and technological advances in meteorological observations, forecasts, advisories, and warnings, expand focus on the integration of meteorological information decision support services into the global air traffic management system, and examine further the impacts of climate change and variability on aviation.
Among the Nigerian delegation are the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Geneva, His Excellency, Ambassador Abiodun Richards Adejola, and Engr. Farouk Ahmed Umar, the Managing Director of Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA). During the weeklong conference, the delegation will seek to understand the recent development in the science of meteorology and its application to operational aeronautical meteorological services which NiMet considers critical to the mandate of the Agency.
The Nigerian delegation used the sideline of the conference to hold a strategic meeting with Professor Celeste Saulo, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to discuss bilateral relations between Nigeria and the WMO. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, during the meeting, recognized the role of meteorology in nation-building and aviation safety and the importance of Nigeria within the region, regarding technical assistance and capacity development initiatives for other member states. He highlighted areas that WMO could increase support to Nigeria such as training, skills acquisition, increased fellowship opportunities for NiMet staff, and early warnings capacity development for industrial professionals.
The Minister advocated for increased WMO presence in Nigeria recognizing the WMO Sub-regional Office located and supported by Nigeria. He pledged that Nigeria would continue to fulfill its statutory obligations to the Regional Office in Abuja and to the WMO headquarters. The Minister having approved that Nigeria develop a national road map of early warnings in line with the WMO Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, requested for WMO support to actualize the EW4All road map.
Speaking, Prof. Anosike said that WMO support is required for the proposal for Nigeria to become a Regional WIGOS Centre and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) Centre of Excellence. He appreciated the WMO for the support received during the training programme on NWP and affirmed Nigeria’s readiness to support member states within the region.
Responding, the WMO Secretary General, Prof. Celeste Saulo acknowledged the role of Nigeria in ensuring that no country is left behind in the region and its support in helping to develop other meteorological services in the region. She praised the government support being received by the Meteorological Service of Nigeria and emphasized the importance of such support especially towards resource mobilization for improved service delivery, and early warning system improvement, especially for extreme weather events in the developing world. Prof. Saulo further expressed her support for regional centers of excellence for meteorology and climate change. She pledged her support and that of the WMO for Nigeria considering the strategic importance of the country to the development of meteorological services.