A Lagos based human rights activist, Ogunniyi Afeez Moshood, has described as unpatriotic and reckless, recent media publications aimed at tarnishing the image of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and its management led by Prof. Charles Anosike.
The activist spoke to some journalists in Abuja on Friday while reacting to a report by an online news platform which claimed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was probing the Director General of NiMet for contract fraud running into billions of Naira.
While dismissing it as false and malicious, Moshood made reference to a similar report recently, which claimed that the Minister for Aviation, Barrister Festus Keyamo, SAN, had called on President Bola Tinubu to sack Prof. Anosike, saying there was no such call by the Minister, adding that such reports were not only wicked but unpatriotic.
He said that the recent story which insinuated that the NiMet Chief Executive Officer, was being questioned by the anti-graft agency over alleged contract fraud and similar ones, must be the handiwork of disgruntled elements at NiMet who are desperate to force themselves into power by all means, using the instrument of blackmail.
According to the publication under reference. an interrogatory correspondence by the EFCC, dated March 28, 2025, had requested Prof. Anosike to provide information regarding the list of contracts executed by NiMet from 2023 to date.
But Moshood said although the EFCC wrote to the NiMet management; that the letter was not addressed to Prof. Anosike but to the agency with attention to the Heads of Procurement and Human Resources Departments, adding that the letter requested the two directors to supply information basically on two issues, namely, contracts awarded in 2021 and travel documents.
He noted that this was contrary to the claims in the publication that EFCC requested for documents for contracts from 2023.
The activists also said that the heads of Procurement and Human Resources, have supplied the EFCC with the documents as requested.
He said- “It would be noted that while the EFCC wanted information on contracts awarded in 2021, Prof. Charles Anosike assumed office as Director General of NiMet in December 2023.
“It was also found that NiMet does not have the resources to award contracts worth ‘Billions of Naira,’ as contained in the report, in view of its statutory allocations of the agency.”
According to him, there have been media reports in recent past, that an internally vested interest has been colluding with detractors to tarnish the image of NiMet management with special focus on the office of the Director General of the Agency and made reference to an Abuja based Labour Dispute Resolution analyst, Wakili El-Habib, who he quoted to have said in an opinion piece, that two top management staff of NiMet are in bed with vested interests, while using a few labour leaders to prosecute an underbelly agenda against the management of the agency.
Ogunniyi Afeez Moshood however praised workers of NiMet who he described as hardworking, committed and dedicated citizens who are patriotically working day and night, to ensure safety of Nigeria’s airspace and other aspects of national security.
He commended the management of NiMet, and especially its Director General, Prof. Charles Anosike for the various giant strides recorded within less than two years that he was appointed by President Bola Tinubu and urged him to ignore detractors while remaining focused on his mandate.
Adding that the President has his independent mechanism to monitor the performance of those he appointed into critical leadership positions.
