The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening collaboration on earth observation to support sustainable development and drive growth across Nigeria’s socio-economic sectors.
The commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the Director-General and Chief Executive of NASRDA, Dr Matthew Adepoju, to the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike.
Both agencies acknowledged the value of combining their respective mandates to deliver accurate and reliable earth observation data, noting that closer collaboration would strengthen national planning and decision-making.
Professor Anosike reaffirmed NiMet’s commitment to deepening the partnership, stressing the importance of meteorological observations in safeguarding lives and property, supporting climate-smart decision-making, enhancing community resilience and strengthening anticipatory action.
He also highlighted the agency’s continued adoption of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence to improve service delivery.
Dr Adepoju proposed collaboration on the development of a meteorological satellite to position Nigeria as a continental leader in space weather observation.
He also identified meteorological support for the operationalisation of hot-air balloons, alongside knowledge exchange, skills development and training, as key areas of cooperation.
Both leaders underscored the need for greater private sector participation in earth observation systems and agreed to review their existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to make it more forward-looking, practical and capable of delivering measurable contributions to sustainable national socio-economic development.
