By Nkechi Eze
The operationalization of the Regional Climate Centre for West Africa and the Sahel (RCC-WAS) gained renewed momentum as the Director General of AGRHYMET, Dr. Issoufou Baoua, on Tuesday led a high-level joint mission to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) headquarters in Abuja. The visit, which also included the WMO Representative for West, Central and North Africa, Dr. Bernard Gomez, and the ECOWAS Representative, Prof. Mansur Matazu, underscored a growing regional convergence around enhanced climate services and resilience-building across the sub-region.
The mission focused on deepening technical collaboration, harmonising regional priorities and laying the final foundations needed for the full operational take-off of RCC-WAS an initiative expected to transform climate monitoring, forecasting and climate-risk decision-making across West Africa and the Sahel.
Speaking during the engagement, Dr. Baoua outlined the core objectives of the mission. He emphasized the importance of strengthening institutional partnerships, identifying capacity-building needs, and setting actionable milestones that will accelerate the establishment of a fully functional regional climate centre. “The RCC-WAS will serve as a critical hub for data-driven climate advisories, early warning systems and scientific collaboration across our region,” he noted.
Receiving the delegation, the Director General/CEO of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, reaffirmed Nigeria’s strong commitment to ensuring the effective take-off of the centre. He praised the joint mission as a testament to the shared regional vision for climate resilience and pledged NiMet’s technical support to the initiative.
“NiMet will continue to contribute tools, expertise and innovative solutions including the MeteoWiz platform to strengthen forecasting capacity, enhance climate modelling, and support collaborative research efforts,” Prof. Anosike assured. He emphasized that the centre will play a crucial role in improving agricultural planning, disaster preparedness and long-term climate adaptation strategies across the sub-region.
The visit concluded with the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AGRHYMET and NiMet, symbolizing a major step forward in consolidating regional cooperation for climate services. Both parties expressed confidence that the partnership will fast-track the establishment of RCC-WAS and significantly improve the quality, accessibility and coordination of climate information across West Africa and the Sahel.
The joint high-level mission marks one of the most decisive steps yet toward the realisation of a fully operational Regional Climate Centre dedicated to strengthening resilience and supporting informed development planning across the region.
