NiMet seeks review of existing law for more powers

PROF Sani Mashi, Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has called for the review of the laws that established the agency to give it powers on the use of meteorological information.

Mashi, while addressing newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, said that NiMet could only bark but not bite with the existing law.

He said the law explicitly stated that NiMet is the only agency that has the responsibility to collect meteorological data and disseminate the weather information to the public in Nigeria.

He added that the law failed to state whether the agency had powers to sanction any other body or a person that produces weather information for public consumption in the country.

“The laws like I said we can bark but we can’t bite.

“The law says that NiMet is the only agency saddled with the responsibility of offering meteorological services, which means that bodies that have meteorological stations can only use it for their own consumption.

“Also, as an educational institution, you can only use it for your training but cannot give that information to anybody.

“If you do that, you are violating our law but we cannot go and report anybody violating that law because the law is not clear.

“The law should have made it clear that for instance if you violate the law, you should go to jail for 10 years or you pay N1 million.’’

Mashi said the review of the law would help NiMet to be able to institute legal action against anybody that disseminates meteorological information without permission from NiMet.

Another weakness of the law, according to him, is the facts that it did not stipulate what the users of NiMet’s weather information are suppose to pay or not.

According to Mashi, the only sector identified by the law is aviation sector, so NiMet cannot ask other the other sectors that are using our services to say pay.