Nigerian government plans to increase facilities for seismic monitoring across the country

The Nigerian government says it is committed to providing the needed resources for the expansion of seismic monitoring equipment, across the country, to boost the nation’s preparedness to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, made the commitment while speaking at the commissioning of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) National Seismic Monitoring Station-5, Katampe, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

Mr Alake commended the agency for establishing the fifth monitoring station, emphasising the readiness of the federal government to make requisite resources available for the expansion of 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”, the minister asserted.

Whilst congratulating NGSA and hailing its collaboration with the University of Abuja which culminated in the new station, Mr Alake noted that the facility signposts the present administration’s commitment to safeguarding lives and properties and ensuring the well-being of citizens.

In his remarks, the Director-General of NGSA, Abdulrasak Garba, revealed that with the equipment in the Katampe station, the agency can categorise movement and levels of tremors which would enable it to alert relevant disaster management agencies about the potential of having a certain magnitude of earth tremors or earthquakes in Abuja and some parts of the country.

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“Though we all know that Nigeria is not in an area that is susceptible to earthquakes recent tremors in parts of the country show that there is a potential for Nigeria to have earthquakes. There have been incidences of low seismicity in parts of the country like Mpape, Maitama in Abuja, some parts of Kwara, Kaduna, and Saki in Oyo state. Therefore, the need to establish a network of active seismic monitoring stations to bolster our nation’s preparedness to manage any impending disaster can not be overemphasised, ” Mr Garba added.

The Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) is an agency under the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development with the mandate for providing relevant and up-to-date geological data necessary for the development of the mining industry and the nation’s economy.

Segun TomoriSpecial Assistant on Mediato the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.

27th February, 2024.