Controversy trails plan to establish Climate Change Agency

Plans to establish a new Climate Change Agency of Nigeria (CCAN) by the National Assembly is creating ripples in Nigeria’s aviation industry as some concerned stakeholders are protesting the move describing it as a duplication of duty and an attempt to drain the nation’s lean treasury given the existence of a functional Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET).
“At a time when the country is battling an economic recession and experts are demanding the cutting down on government spending and scaling down of the bureaucracy, the establishment of a new agency with the same responsibilities as NIMET is indeed a white elephant and a waste of the country’s lean resources,” said the Director General /CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency(NiMet), Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi.
Mashi in an interview with aviation correspondents in Lagos yesterday said majority of Nigerian meteorologists were also opposed to the creation of a separate and parallel Climate Change Agency (CCA), as it would amount to a duplication of functions already being carried out by an existing agency, NIMET.
The National Assembly (House of Representatives) is currently processing the proposed bill for an Act to create the Climate Change Agency of Nigeria.
“It is rather surprising that at a time when the country is experiencing an economic recession and is literally fighting the battle of its life, people are proposing the creation of a parallel agency that will merely duplicate the functions of an existing body,” Mashi said.
“Even at the best of times when resources do not pose any significant bottleneck, such obvious duplication is counterproductive and may lead to conflict of interest and unnecessary rivalry
“NIMET has remained the major authoritative voice on climate issues in Nigeria as recognized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a technical and specialized Agency of the United Nations (UN), “ the NIMET DG said.