BY OLAPEJU OLUBI
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 September 10, 2026, in Cotonou, Benin, during the 24th Ordinary Session of the ACMAD Board of Governors, held alongside the 22nd African Climate Outlook Forum (ACCOF22).
As president, Anosike is expected to provide strategic leadership for the Centre, particularly in strengthening institutional governance, partnerships and the delivery of effective weather and climate services across Africa.
ACMAD is mandated to promote the application of weather and climate information to support sustainable socio-economic development on the continent.
His election is expected to further strengthen Nigeria’s role in Africa’s meteorological community and its efforts to improve weather and climate services for the protection of lives and property, climate resilience and economic development.
Anosike’s emergence comes as African countries intensify efforts to improve their capacity to anticipate and respond to growing weather and climate-related risks under the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative.
The Cotonou meeting brought together members of the ACMAD Board of Governors and key institutional partners to review the Centre’s progress and chart its strategic direction.
Those who addressed the opening session included ACMAD Director-General, 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, Mr. Harsen Nyambe; and Benin’s Minister of Living Environment and Transport in charge of Sustainable Development, H.E. Georges Alé.
Olapeju is a journalist and aviation reporter.
