Abuja: The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) announced that Nigeria is aiming to achieve complete coverage of its citizens with a multi-hazard early warning system by 2027 through the ‘Early Warnings for All’ (EW4All) initiative. This declaration was made by NEMA’s Director-General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, during a coordination meeting in Abuja ahead of the official launch of EW4All in Nigeria. The initiative is a global effort to ensure protection from hazardous weather, water, and climate events via early warning systems.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the meeting gathered Chief Executive Officers from the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Umar emphasized the need for aligning roles to strengthen Nigeria’s disaster risk management and ensure seamless inter-agency collaboration. She highlighted the risks Nigeria faces, such as floods, droughts, windstorms, heat stress, and disease outbreaks.
Umar pointed out that in 2025, floods affected over 1.2 million people in Nigeria. She referenced the UN Secretary General’s description of EW4All as a ‘survival agenda for humanity’, noting its importance for national security and development. The meeting aimed to agree on a national launch pathway and ensure that every Nigerian is covered by an early warning system by 2027.
The initiative features four pillars with designated institutional leads. NEMA and NASRDA will lead the Disaster Risk Knowledge pillar, NiMet and NIHSA will focus on Detection and Forecasting, while NCC will handle Warning Dissemination. NEMA will also coordinate the Preparedness and Response pillar. Umar stressed the importance of quarterly coordination meetings to review hazards, assess preparedness, and resolve operational challenges in advance.
The collaboration is aligned with the Sendai Framework, SDGs, Paris Agreement, and President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. Umar urged the agencies to engage openly in the deliberations, stating, “NEMA is ready to coordinate but will only succeed if we move as one.”
Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Mr. Aminu Maida, praised NEMA for uniting the agencies, stressing that early warning systems are crucial for protecting citizens from unplanned disasters and that joint efforts would yield results with fewer resources.
Director-General of NASRDA, Mr. Matthew Adepoju, highlighted the agency’s readiness to provide technical support through data and space technology, aligning with its disaster management mandate and supporting Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Alhaji Umar Mohammed, D-G of NIHSA, described early warning as essential for preparedness, with a goal to minimize disaster impact. Mr. Muliro Mashauri, Regional Representative of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, called the platform ‘unique’ in West Africa and stressed the importance of integrating warnings into a single bulletin to prevent confusion. He affirmed Nigeria’s capability to meet and exceed the 2027 target, citing previous satellite support during the Katrina event as evidence of the country’s capacity.