RismadarVoice Reporters
October 6, 2026
The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, NIHSA, has expressed readiness to deepen collaboration with environmental journalists to improve the dissemination of flood forecasts, early-warning information and water-resource management messages, particularly to vulnerable communities.
NIHSA Director-General, Architect Umar Muhammed, gave the assurance when the Executive Council of the Environmental Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria, EMCAN, led by its Chairman, Joycelyn Ellekeche Adah, paid a courtesy visit to the agency in Abuja.
According to a statement by EMCAN Secretary, Samuel Adeyinka, Muhammed described the media as an important partner in ensuring that communities exposed to flooding and other water-related risks receive timely and accurate information.
He warned that inadequate management of water resources could contribute to water scarcity, contamination and the spread of water-related diseases.
Muhammed said closer cooperation with environmental journalists would help translate technical information from the agency into messages that communities can understand and act upon.
“We will need an organisation like yours to interface with the public and disseminate quality information for public use, especially to those in vulnerable communities,” he said.
Adah, in her remarks, said EMCAN recognised the importance of NIHSA’s work to public safety and wanted to strengthen media coverage of the agency’s activities.
She said environmental journalists could play a greater role in ensuring that flood forecasts and early-warning information reach people most exposed to environmental hazards.
“We want to intensify our work to support NIHSA to make Nigerians, particularly those in vulnerable communities, better understand the importance of what the agency does,” she said.
Adah added that giving journalists first-hand understanding of NIHSA’s operations would improve the accuracy and effectiveness of reporting on hydrological issues.
She also informed the agency of EMCAN’s plans to cover COP31 in Türkiye and sought support for the participation of two to three members of the association.
NIHSA’s Special Assistant on Media, Yakub Aliyu, and Technical Adviser to the Director-General, Stephen Jabo, also advocated closer engagement and specialised training for journalists.
They said improved technical understanding would enable reporters to interpret flood outlooks more accurately and communicate early warnings effectively to communities at risk.
