From David Onuoja, Abuja
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), has pledged to strengthen its partnership with Environmental Journalists, to improve public awareness on water resources management, flood forecasting and early warning dissemination across the country.
The commitment was made by the Director-General of NIHSA, Architect Mohammed, when the Executive Council of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN), led by its Chairman, Joycelyn Adah, paid a courtesy visit to the agency’s management in Abuja on Monday.
Mohammed described the media as a critical partner in reaching vulnerable communities with timely and accurate hydrological information, especially on flood risks and water-related hazards. He warned that poor environmental and water management could lead to scarcity, contamination and outbreak of diseases.
“If you do not have good environment and manage water resources, one day you may wake up and you would be shocked with what you see. Either you totally run out of water or you have no clean water,” the DG said.
Related News
He noted that human activities remain a major source of pollution of streams and rivers, with serious public health implications, and called on EMCAN to help interface with the public to ensure quality information on water resources gets to those who needed it most.
In her remarks, EMCAN Chairman, Joycelyn Adah, said the association considered NIHSA’s mandate extremely important to national safety but under-reported. She said the new leadership was prioritizing capacity building and structured partnerships with key environmental agencies to improve the quality of environmental journalism.
Adah also used the visit to formally inform NIHSA of EMCAN’s plans to cover the 31st Conference of Parties (COP31) scheduled to hold in Türkiye, and appealed for the agency’s support to sponsor two to three members of the association to the global climate summit.
Responding, the NIHSA DG, said the agency was also preparing to participate in COP31 in collaboration with international development partners, and would explore opportunities to accommodate EMCAN if additional slots are secured, though he could not give a definite commitment.
Earlier, Special Assistant on Media to NIHSA, Mr. Yakub Aliyu, and Technical Adviser to the DG, Mr. Stephen Jabo, stressed the need for greater visibility for NIHSA’s activities, particularly the Annual Flood Outlook (AFO), and called for specialized training for journalists covering technical beats.
Both organizations expressed optimism that the visit would mark the beginning of a sustained relationship focused on public enlightenment, professional development, early warning dissemination and improved reporting of Nigeria’s water and environmental challenges.
