Lagos — The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Adminitration and Safety Agency [NIMASA],Temisan Omatseye, has urged stakeholders in the country to support the Federal government sensitization campaign on climate change.

He said the development would go a long way to ensure the success of the campaign as well as create cross-understanding implication of climate change and how to manage same by Nigerians.

Omatseye,who disclosed this in Lagos yesterday[Wednesday] during flagging off exercise of the strategic nationwide campaign on climate change.

The exercise is a joint initiative of the agency and the Federal Ministry of Environment. He said:"Today's Flag off and City Storm is a practical way to demonstrate our climate friendliness solution for sensitization of the entire citizenry of Nigeria, in particular, to a wake-up call, that "climate change is real" and has looming negative consequences for all.

Now is the time for all hands to be on deck to proactively stem the tide and prepare Nigerians to cope, adapt and to mitigate climate change consequences."

According to the agency boss, it remains unclear however, what the character of the new climates will be when fully established, stressing that there is no longer any major contention of the fact that climate change is a serious threat to poverty alleviation and sustainable development globally, and Nigeria in particular.

He explained that the climate change phenomenon in Nigeria can be seen in persistence drought, desert encroachment and water stress in the north; rising sea level and inundation of coastal lands by sea water in the south, while above average daily minimum and maximum temperature, increasing floods and erosion are being experienced all over the country.

He said changing rainfall patterns have the potential to devastate the rain-fed agriculture on which so much of the population of Nigeria depends to survive, adding that occurrences of drought will eventually lead to a decline in agricultural yields and diminished food security.