Sirika commends NIMET for improved weather forecast aiding flight operations

Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, has applauded the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), for the installation of a low-level wind shear alert system around most of the nation’s airports, which ensures adequate warning about wind speed and direction.

According to the minister, warnings by NiMET help the aviation ministry and other sectors of the economy prepare for the unexpected challenges of nature which have ensured the safety of lives and properties, and investments specifically in the area of agriculture.

Sirika said he was impressed with the work the agency is doing and applauded it for the growth it has made over the years through management efforts as exhibited by the present administration of Mansur Matazu, the director-general of the agency.

Mansur Matazu, the director-general of NiMET disclosed that the agency is ready to offer more than weather forecast but live up to its strategic role in growing the nation’s economy with precise based advisory services.

He said this will be achieved with the regular capacity development of its staff from both local and international training centres.

Matazu stated that though the impact of the agency is more noticeable in the aviation sector through its ability to monitor, plan and predict climate change to prevent air crashes, it wants to be known for stating the impact of any weather condition on the lives of the people. This, according to him, is the humanization of NiMET forecast to impact the lives of the citizenry.

It wants to move from making a forecast on whether there is going to be rain or heat, to the impact the amount of rain or the heatwave will have on the health of the citizens.

The DG said this will be cascaded to the populace in their various states and local governments in their different languages for effective communication.

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He said this can be achieved through regular staff training where they will relearn, learn and unlearn for optimal service delivery.

Though four months on the saddle, with over seven year-experience in different directorates of the agency, he said the only way to make the staff more comfortable, improve their productivity and service delivery as well as rejig and reposition the agency to meet modern demands caused by the global attention on climate change, is the constant improvement in staff welfare packages and capacity.

To make this possible, he said they have a percentage of their expenditure dedicated to the training of staff at all times. He said at any time, every week, there is a staff in one part of the country or the other undergoing training.

“Even on a real-time basis, there are those in Lagos, Katsina, and many other places and outside the country that are undergoing training and this involves staff from all the cadres from the lower level, drivers’ level to the managerial level’’, he added.

Looking beyond the training and shift in mindset, the agency still has to focus on infrastructure upgrades to perform its main core task, and this, according to him, has led to the upgrading of its infrastructure, especially weather monitoring and observation infrastructure.