*Dr. Oladele Alake, Minister for Solid Minerals Development, commissions the National Seismic Monitoring Station-5, Katampe, affirming the facility signposts the present administration’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property while ensuring the wellbeing of citizens

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

Dr. Oladele Alake, Honourable Minister for Solid Minerals Development, has pledged the commitment of the Federal Government to providing the needed resources for the expansion of seismic monitoring equipment, across the country.

The Minister, who spoke at the commissioning of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) National Seismic Monitoring Station-5, Katampe, said the move would boost the country’s preparedness to mitigate the impact of natural disasters.

Segun Tomori, Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Tuesday, February 27, 2024, stated Dr. Alake also lauded the agency for establishing the fifth monitoring station.

He emphasised the readiness of the Federal Government to make requisite resources available for expansion of facility across the West African country.

The Minister stated: “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, neither can we predetermine with scientific exactitude when natural disasters will occur, but we can estimate when such incidence will occur and that will assist the nation in making contingency arrangements to mitigate the聽 adverse effect of such disasters on the populace.”

Congratulating NGSA and hailing its collaboration with the University of Abuja, which culminated in the new station, Alake noted that the facility signposts the present administration’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property and ensuring the wellbeing of citizens.

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

Dr. Garba stated: “Though we all know that Nigeria is not in an area that is susceptible to earthquakes but 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 cannot be overemphasised.”

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 development of the mining industry and the country’s economy.