Sirika Congratulates Matazu on WMO Executive Council Appointment.

By Helen Udoh-Abuja

The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika has congratulated the Director-General/CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Mansur Bako Matazu, on his appointment into the Executive Council of the World Meteorological Organisation.

Professor Matazu who is also the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the Meteorology regulatory body, was elected at the seventy-third session of the Executive Council of the WMO.

According to the Minister, the election of Matazu is a testament to the critical contributions of NiMet, and Nigeria, to the global meteorological growth and development.

He recalled the recent graduation of meteorological technicians trained by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency which was held in Banjul, The Gambia as one of the critical contributions of Nigeria to the growth of global meteorological science.

Sirika charged Professor Matazu to see his election as a challenge to take NiMet to a higher pedestal than it currently occupies, and make it a one-stop Agency for climate and weather information and training,Muntari Yusuf Ibrahim,General Manager, Public Relations, NiMet noted.

“Your election is in furtherance and propagation of the message and ideals of the science of meteorology in the West African Sub-region and the continent of Africa as a whole” he said.

Also congratulating the NiMet Director-General, the Secretary-General of the WMO, Professor Petteri Taalas said “I look forward to your future participation and effective contribution to the work of the Council for the benefit of all our members. I would like to assure you of my full support as well as that of the Secretariat in the accomplishment of your new duties’’.

The Executive Council of the WMO implements decisions of the Congress (i.e., the supreme body of the Organization which is the general assembly of delegates epresenting Members of WMO), coordinates programmes, as well as manages the budgets of the Organisation.

The Council also considers, and acts on resolutions and recommendations from the Regional Associations (RAs) and Technical Commissions (TCs), studies and makes recommendations on matters affecting international meteorology and other related activities.
Nigeria’s membership of the Executive Council will, among other benefits, strengthen multi-lateral and bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and other countries on weather, climate, water, environment and sustainable development issues.

The World Meteorological Organisation, WMO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations, dedicated to international cooperation and coordination on the state and behaviour of the Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources.