The Minister of Water Resources, Mr Suleiman Adamu, has applauded the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) for its immense commitment to duty.
Adamu gave the commendation on Monday in Abuja during a one-day working visit to the agency, describing it as the most critical agency.
In a press statement signed by Mrs Lauretta Samuel, the agency’s Head of Public Relations, the Minister described the management and staff as forging ahead consistently in spite all challenges.
“He also commended previous administrations for seeing the need to establish the agency, which plays a critical role in the socio-economic growth of the nation.
“This is with respect to the early warning information on the flood scenerio in the country,” the statement said.
The Minister stressed the need for continuous synergy between the agency and the River Basin Development Authorities.
“This is in order to meet up with the Minimum Network Density recommended by World Meteorological Organisation,” the statement added.
The Director General (DG) of NIHSA, Mr. Clement Nze, described the Minister’s visit as historic, adding that management and staff of the agency had been looking forward to it.
Nze, while speaking on some of the agency’s achievement said that 74 ground water monitoring boreholes had been drilled.
“Also, 33 Sutron Meteosat Data Collection Platforms, 36 Telemetry DCP Stations under the intervention of TRIMMING Project, and 18 Automatic Weather Observation Systems, including three from NEMA, have also been established,” the statement announced.
The DG said that 273 Manual Staff Guage Stations had been established, while 10 series of Annual Flood Outlook had been published and launched, with seven editions under the supervision of the Minister.
The DG said that among other things, inadequate operational vehicles and office accommodation were some of the agency’s challenges.
Mrs Omolara Idowu, Director, Administration and Finance, NIHSA gave the vote of thanks.
The Minister was later conducted on a guided tour of some of NIHSA’s facilities. (NAN)