By Patricia Amogu

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu has commended the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) for their immense commitment to their duty.

Adamu praised Monday in Abuja during a one-day working visit to the agency, describing it as the most critical agency.

In a press release signed by Ms. Lauretta Samuel, the agency’s public relations officer, the minister described the management and staff as moving forward with consistency despite all the challenges.

“He also commended previous administrations for seeing the need to create the agency, which plays a vital role in the socio-economic growth of the nation.

“This relates to early warning information on the flood scenario in the country,” the statement said.

The Minister stressed the need for continued synergy between the agency and the River Basin Management Authorities.

“This is to meet the minimum network density recommended by the World Meteorological Organization,” the statement added.

NIHSA Chief Executive Officer Clement Nze called the minister’s visit historic, adding that the agency’s management and staff were looking forward to it.

Nze, while talking about some of the agency’s achievements, said that 74 groundwater monitoring boreholes had been drilled.

“In addition, 33 Sutron Meteosat data collection platforms, 36 telemetry DCP stations under the intervention of the TRIMMING project and 18 automatic meteorological observation systems, including three from NEMA, have also been set up,” announces the press release.

The chief executive said 273 staff manual gauging stations had been established, while 10 sets of annual flood outlooks had been published and launched, with seven editions under the supervision of the minister.

The chief executive said that among others, insufficient operational vehicles and office space were among the agency’s challenges.

Ms. Omolara Idowu, Director, Administration and Finance, NIHSA delivered the vote of thanks.

The Minister was then taken on a guided tour of some of the NIHSA facilities. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

========
Edited by Razak Owolabi