NiMet DG Anosike Elected President of ACMAD Board of Governors
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, has been elected President of the Board of Governors of the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) for a four-year term.
Anosike’s election took place on 10 September 2026 in Cotonou, Benin, during the 24th Ordinary Session of the ACMAD Board of Governors, held alongside the 22nd African Climate Outlook Forum (ACCOF22).
His emergence places Nigeria at the helm of the continental body at a time when African countries are intensifying efforts to strengthen their capacity to predict, prepare for and respond to increasingly frequent and severe weather and climate-related risks.
As President of the ACMAD Board of Governors, Anosike is expected to provide strategic leadership towards strengthening the institution’s governance, partnerships and delivery of climate services across Africa.
He will also be expected to support ACMAD’s mandate of promoting the effective application of weather and climate information to sustainable socio-economic development across the continent.
The new leadership role is expected to further strengthen NiMet’s position within Africa’s meteorological community, while reinforcing Nigeria’s contribution to continental efforts aimed at improving weather and climate services.
The agency said the development also underscored Nigeria’s commitment to using meteorological information to protect lives and property, strengthen climate resilience and support economic development.
Anosike’s election comes as African countries and regional institutions seek to improve early warning systems and climate information services in response to growing weather-related threats, including extreme rainfall, flooding, droughts, heatwaves and other climate hazards.
The push is closely linked to the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, which seeks to ensure that people around the world are protected from hazardous weather, water and climate events through early warning systems.
For Africa, the strengthening of meteorological institutions and the availability of reliable, timely and accessible climate information are considered critical to disaster preparedness, agriculture, water management, transport, public health and other sectors vulnerable to weather and climate variability.
The 24th Ordinary Session of the ACMAD Board of Governors provided an opportunity for member countries and institutional partners to assess the Centre’s progress and consider measures to strengthen its strategic direction and governance.
The meeting also brought together senior officials and representatives of key continental and regional institutions involved in meteorology, climate services and sustainable development.
The high-level opening session featured the Director-General of ACMAD, Dr Ousmane Ndiaye; Vice-President of the ACMAD Board and Director of Niger Meteorological Services, Dr Adamou Aïssatou Sitta; Director of the African Union Commission’s Department of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy (SEBE), Mr Harsen Nyambe; and Benin’s Minister of Living Environment and Transport in charge of Sustainable Development, H.E. Georges Alé.
The participation of senior officials from ACMAD, the African Union Commission and national meteorological institutions reflected the strategic importance attached to strengthening Africa’s collective capacity to manage weather and climate risks.
ACMAD serves as a continental centre for the application of meteorological information to development and works with African countries and partners to improve access to weather and climate services.
Anosike’s four-year tenure as President of its Board of Governors is therefore expected to provide an opportunity for Nigeria to contribute more directly to the Centre’s strategic governance and efforts to translate meteorological and climate information into practical benefits for African communities and economies.
The development also comes amid growing recognition across Africa that improved forecasting, early warning and climate information are essential tools for reducing the human and economic costs associated with extreme weather events.
Through his new position, the NiMet Director General is expected to work with ACMAD member states and institutional partners to promote stronger cooperation, partnerships and climate-service delivery, while advancing the broader continental objective of building a more climate-resilient Africa.
