By FAVOUR NNABUGWU

The World Meteorological Organization, ,WMO, has okayed the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET)’s Seasonal Rainfall Predictions (SRP) as a successful product that could be adopted by countries around the world This is also as NiMET predicted late rainfall and early cessation for this year’s weather forecast while it foretold that most part of the country will experience warmer-than-normal temperature.

WMO’s representative for North and West Africa, Mr Benard Gomez at 2015 SRP in Abuja on Thursday, acknowledged that countries in the world are adopting the success product put forth by NiMET which has recorded huge success.

Gomez said that it has always been accepted in most countries of the world that whatever product that succeeds in Nigeria will definitely succeed in any other countries of the world.

According to him, “Anything that works in Nigeria always work anywhere in the world and SRP is one product that has been very successful in Nigeria which other countries trust and develop because of its success”. In his speech, the Minister of Aviation, Mr Osita Chidoka said that the importance of NiMet’s predictions can be seen from the damage caused by the 2012 floods that hit most parts of Nigeria.

Chidoka represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Abbas, disclosed that the 2012 SRP flood prediction which happened six months after, affected 33 out of the 36 states which caused the federal government to release N17.6 billion to those states while the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) released N1.34billion for material relief.

He said government took far-reaching steps to mitigate the plight of those affected by the 2012 floods including setting up of national Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation and also constitute a Technical Committee to assess the impact and proffer immediate, medium and long-term solutions.