By David Torough, Abuja

The Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have renewed their strategic partnership with the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening maritime safety and security across Nigeria’s maritime domain.

The agreement was signed at the Naval Headquarters in Abuja in the presence of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIMASA, Dr.

The renewed agreement builds on a partnership that dates back to 2007 and has been sustained through successive renewals. The latest MoU is expected to further align the mandates, capabilities and expertise of the two institutions while improving operational coordination and delivering measurable outcomes in maritime safety and security.

Speaking ahead of the signing, Mobereola described the renewal as a reaffirmation of the shared commitment of NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy to the security, safety, sustainability and prosperity of Nigeria’s maritime domain and Blue Economy.

He stressed that Nigeria’s economic wellbeing is closely linked to the sea, making the protection of the country’s maritime space a national imperative. He also acknowledged the Nigerian Navy’s role as a critical pillar of the nation’s maritime security architecture and its operational support to NIMASA in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.

Abbas, in his remarks, described the renewed MoU as an important milestone in the longstanding relationship between the two organisations, which he said was founded on decades of cooperation and shared national interests.

The Naval Chief expressed confidence in NIMASA’s leadership and progress, reaffirming the Navy’s commitment to supporting the agency in the effective discharge of its mandate over the next five years.

He emphasised that sustained inter-agency cooperation remains essential to securing Nigeria’s maritime space, protecting national interests and creating an enabling environment for the development of the Blue Economy.

Under the renewed framework, the Navy and NIMASA will expand cooperation in key areas including maritime safety and security, marine pollution control, search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, intelligence and information sharing, hydrography, training and professional capacity development.

The collaboration is expected to enhance maritime domain awareness and improve coordinated responses to incidents at sea, while supporting the safety of ships, crew, cargo, passengers and navigation within Nigeria’s maritime domain.

The MoU also provides for greater institutional cooperation through timely intelligence and information exchange, appropriate utilisation of relevant facilities and capabilities, and collaboration in other areas of mutual interest.

To ensure sustained implementation, the agreement will be subjected to regular institutional reviews. The two organisations will also jointly convene an annual Maritime Safety and Security Conference to assess progress, identify emerging challenges and refine their priorities.

The Nigerian Navy said securing Nigeria’s territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone remains central to protecting lives and property, safeguarding legitimate maritime activities, preserving national security and supporting the sustainable development of the Blue Economy.

The Navy further reaffirmed its commitment to working with NIMASA, sister Services and other security agencies to protect Nigeria’s maritime interests and defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The renewed partnership, the institutions said, is expected to contribute to a safer, more secure and prosperous maritime environment for Nigeria and the wider Gulf of Guinea.

The Adamawa Government has inaugurated a Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Strategy for Child Nutrition to commemorate the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week.

The wife of the governor, Lami Fintiri, inaugurated the strategy on Wednesday in Yola as part of activities marking the global event.

The 2026 theme is: “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works.

Fintiri said the strategy would provide a practical roadmap for promoting positive healthcare and nutrition practices across the state.

She described exclusive breastfeeding as the simplest, most effective and affordable way of providing infants with adequate nutrition.

“Every child deserves the best start in life through exclusive breastfeeding and proper nutrition.

“Breastfeeding protects babies against illnesses, while helping mothers recover faster after childbirth and reducing postpartum bleeding” she said.

She reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to improving maternal, newborn and child health through sustained investments in primary healthcare and nutrition programmes.

She said the government was creating an enabling environment for mothers and children to survive and thrive.

Fintiri also commended UNICEF and other development partners for supporting healthcare service delivery in Adamawa.

Executive Chairman, Adamawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Sulaiman Bashir, said the agency was promoting exclusive breastfeeding and tackling misconceptions surrounding the practice.

Bashir said the agency had intensified public awareness campaigns on the benefits of breastfeeding for child survival and healthy development.

A beneficiary, Augustina Sunday, said exclusive breastfeeding also reduced mothers’ risk of breast cancer and other childbirth-related health complications.

Healthcare kits were presented to breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women during the event.

The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding with complementary foods up to two years or beyond.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Nigeria is targeting full coverage of all citizens with a multi-hazard early warning system by 2027, through the “Early Warnings for All” (EW4All) initiative.

Director-General (D-G) of NEMA, Zubaida Umar, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja, during a coordination meeting ahead of the official launch of EW4All in Nigeria.

EW4All is a global initiative that aims to ensure that every human on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, and climate events by life-saving early warning systems by 2027.

The meeting brought together Chief Executive Officers of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Umar said the meeting was convened to align roles for Nigeria’s multi-hazard early warning system, strengthen Nigeria’s disaster risk management architecture and ensure seamless inter-agency collaboration.

She noted that Nigeria continues to face increasing risks from floods, droughts, windstorms, heat stress and disease outbreaks.

“In 2025 alone, over 1.2 million people were affected by floods in Nigeria.

“The Secretary General of the UN has called EW4All a ‘survival agenda for humanity’ and for Nigeria, it is also a national security and development agenda.

“We therefore gather today to agree on a common pathway towards a successful national launch, and more importantly, to ensure that in Nigeria, every person is covered by an early warning system by year 2027,” Umar said.

She explained that the initiative has four pillars with clear institutional leads.

She said that NEMA and NASRDA would lead on Disaster Risk Knowledge pillar, NiMet and NIHSA would lead Detection and Forecasting, while NCC would lead Warning Dissemination.

Umar added that NEMA would also coordinate the Preparedness and Response pillar.

She said that the meeting was also organised to resuscitate quarterly coordination meetings among the agencies to review hazards, assess preparedness and resolve operational challenges early.

She said the collaboration aligns with the Sendai Framework, SDGs, Paris Agreement and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, urging the agencies to approach the deliberations with openness.

“NEMA is ready to coordinate but will only succeed if we move as one,” she said.

In his remarks, Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Aminu Maida, commended NEMA for bringing the agencies together.

Maida said early warning systems were critical to protecting citizens from unplanned disasters, adding that joint action would deliver results with fewer resources.

On his part, Director-General of NASRDA, Matthew Adepoju, said the agency would provide technical support through data and space technology.

Adepoju noted that NASRDA’s mandate includes disaster management, promising that the agency would support the fulfilment of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Also speaking, the D-G of NIHSA, Alhaji Umar Mohammed, described early warning as “national corps for preparedness”.

Mohammed said the goal is to prepare before disasters occur and reduce impact to the barest minimum.

Regional Representative of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Muliro Mashauri, described the platform as “unique” in West Africa.

Mashauri noted that bringing regulators like NCC into disaster planning was important and urged the agencies to harmonise warnings into “one bulletin” to avoid confusion.

He added that Nigeria has the capacity to meet and exceed the 2027 target, citing Nigeria’s satellite support during the Katrina event as evidence of existing capacity.