Nigerian government plans to enhance Infrastructure for Nationwide Seismic Monitoring
The Nigerian government affirms its commitment to allocating resources for the expansion of seismic monitoring equipment nationwide, enhancing the nation’s readiness to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
Speaking at the commissioning of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) National Seismic Monitoring Station-5 in Katampe, Abuja, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, praised the agency for establishing the fifth monitoring station. He stressed the government’s readiness to provide necessary resources for expanding facilities across the country.
“We intend to pursue the policy of making the necessary resources available to the agency to expand these stations to other parts of the country.
“Nature cannot be second-guessed, and neither can we predetermine with scientific exactitude when natural disasters will occur, but we can estimate when such incidents will occur and that will assist the nation in making contingency arrangements to mitigate the adverse effect of such disasters on the populace,” asserted the minister.
In his remarks, Abdulrasak Garba, the Director-General of NGSA, disclosed that the Katampe station’s equipment enables the agency to categorize movement and tremor levels, allowing it to alert relevant disaster management agencies about potential earth tremors or earthquakes in Abuja and other parts of the country.
“While Nigeria is not in an area susceptible to earthquakes, recent tremors in parts of the country show potential for earthquakes. Therefore, the establishment of a network of active seismic monitoring stations to bolster our nation’s preparedness to manage any impending disaster cannot be overemphasized,” Mr. Garba added.
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The NGSA, under the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development, is mandated to provide relevant geological data necessary for the development of the mining industry and the nation’s economy.
