The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, has emerged President of the Board of Governors of the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD), taking on a four-year mandate to help steer the continent’s weather and climate services.
Anosike’s election took place on September 10, 2026, in Cotonou, Benin, during the 24th Ordinary Session of the ACMAD Board of Governors, held back-to-back with the 22nd African Climate Outlook Forum (ACCOF22).
Anosike’s Continental Mandate
As President of the Board, Anosike is expected to provide strategic leadership towards stronger institutional governance, productive partnerships and more effective climate services across Africa.
His mandate will also support ACMAD’s broader objective of strengthening the application of weather and climate information to sustainable socio-economic development across the continent.
The election further underscores NiMet’s growing leadership role within Africa’s meteorological community and Nigeria’s commitment to advancing weather and climate services that protect lives and property, strengthen climate resilience and support economic development.
Anosike’s emergence comes at a critical period for Africa, as countries intensify efforts to improve their capacity to anticipate, prepare for and respond to increasingly frequent and severe weather and climate-related risks.
The development also aligns with the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, which seeks to ensure that people worldwide are better protected from hazardous weather, climate and water-related events through early warning systems.
Strategic Direction for ACMAD
The Cotonou session brought together members of the ACMAD Board of Governors and key institutional partners to review the Centre’s progress and chart a stronger strategic direction for its governance and operations.
The high-level opening featured the Director-General of ACMAD, 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 (AUC) Department of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy (SEBE), Mr. Harsen Nyambe; and Benin’s Minister of Living Environment and Transport, in charge of Sustainable Development, H.E. Georges Alé.
Anosike’s election places Nigeria at the centre of ACMAD’s strategic leadership at a time when reliable climate information, early warning systems and coordinated continental action are becoming increasingly critical to Africa’s development and resilience.