From Sola Ojo, Abuja
A credible source within the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has alleged an orchestrated ethnic campaign against the agency’s Director General, Prof. Charles Anosike.
Speaking anonymously on Monday, the source claimed that a group posing as the Joint Action Congress (JAC) of NiMet is falsely calling for Anosike’s removal to destabilise the agency.
Leaders of the purported JAC, including Comrade Aliyu Awotu, Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE); Samson Ambore, Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP); and Hycent Okunbor, Chairman of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), blamed Anosike for a recent workers’ strike in a joint interview, demanding his ouster. The source dismissed these claims, stating, “None of the genuine NiMet labour unions have called for Prof. Anosike’s removal.”
The source alleged that faceless fifth columnists, exploiting legacy issues inherited by Anosike since his appointment by President Bola Tinubu in December 2023, are behind the scheme. The legitimate NiMet Unions Joint Action Committee (NJAC), led by Comrade Okechukwu Nwokoro, praised Anosike’s leadership and welfare initiatives in a letter in August 2024.
Despite Anosike’s transformation of NiMet into a modern, digitally compliant weather forecasting agency, the source lamented that some individuals fuel ethnic sentiments to undermine him. “It is unfortunate that Prof. Anosike’s competence is now being questioned by phantom unions simply because he is standing in the way of vested interests. Nigeria belongs to all of us. The DG should not be vilified simply because he is an Igbo man,” the source said.
The source urged President Tinubu, Minister of Aviation Festus Keyamo, and stakeholders to support Anosike, highlighting his contributions to NiMet’s professionalism and progress.