Employees of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) have staged protests over the non-payment of their salaries for the past six months, a situation they describe as unprecedented in the agency’s history.
The seasonal climate prediction team, in particular, has been severely impacted, with several employees sharing their dire financial struggles.
In an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, frustrated workers blamed NiMet’s Director-General/CEO, Prof. Charles Anosike, for their ongoing hardships, accusing the management of neglecting staff welfare and leaving them financially strained.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation, warned that the situation could have serious consequences, especially for Nigeria’s aviation sector.
In addition to already difficult working conditions, employees are now burdened with the challenge of unpaid salaries. As a result, unions representing NiMet staff have issued a warning to the management, threatening to resume a strike that had previously been suspended due to unmet promises in a January agreement with the agency.
The primary issue raised by the unions is the management’s failure to implement key provisions of the agreement, particularly those related to workers’ allowances, which were supposed to be finalized by February 2025.
In a letter, the unions also expressed concern over the withholding of the negotiated conditions of service document. While the document was reportedly submitted to the ministry, it has yet to be shared with union representatives who had signed it.
The Union of Air Transport Employees, the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical, and Recreational Services Employees have all criticized NiMet management for not honoring the terms of the January 28, 2025 agreement.
Further allegations against the agency include claims that consultants are running operations despite the presence of regular staff, with workers suspecting that this is an attempt to misappropriate the agency’s funds.
“Things are getting worse at NiMet,” one worker said. “The SCP technical team hasn’t been paid for over six months. Consultants are handling everything now, just to siphon money from the agency. Anosike’s management is the worst we’ve ever had. People are sent on assignments without DTA, and we’ve already lost two staff members in a road accident. We are being deprived, and morale is at an all-time low.”
In response to the allegations, NiMet’s Director of Human Resource Management and Administration, Nasiru Sani, rejected the claims, asserting that the management had been actively addressing the concerns raised in the January agreement.
“It is unfair to say that the management has not made progress on the issues agreed upon in January,” Sani stated. “Many of the issues require approvals from other government agencies, and we have been in communication with them to resolve these matters.”
Sani also assured that the agency had secured approval from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to enhance debt recovery from key aviation authorities, including the Nigeria Air Management Authority, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, in an effort to meet the workers’ demands.
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