By Yemi Olakitan
In a bid to boost revenue and promote economic growth, the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to regulate and license the space sector. This move is expected to generate more revenue for the country and promote the development of its space ecosystem.
According to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, the regulation and licensing of the space sector will commence soon. Nnaji made this announcement at the inauguration of the Advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Laboratory of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja.
Nnaji said, “Very soon, we will start regulating and licensing the space sector, the upstream, mainstream and part of downstream, it is a major achievement and it is happening under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“With the application of our unmanned aerial vehicles, we are going to use it to monitor pipeline leakages, pipeline vandalism, and beef up our revenue by monitoring the way ships come into the country.
“When some of these ships come in, they off their ignition and more than 80 per cent of ships coming into Nigeria ports don’t pay, they don’t pay bunker fees, they off their ignition.
“We can’t monitor some of these things when we don’t have satellites, but with satellites, we can see all these things and even boost agricultural activities.
“With our satellites, we can monitor earth movements and all these are part of the small benefits of satellite technology.”
The laboratory was inaugurated as part of the activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Nigeria in Space. Nnaji emphasized the importance of satellite technology in detecting and addressing illegalities in the oil and gas sector, as well as other sectors of the economy.
Nnaji highlighted the benefits of space technology, including the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor pipeline leakages, pipeline vandalism, and boost revenue by monitoring ship movements. He also mentioned the potential of satellite technology to boost agricultural activities and monitor earth movements.
The Director-General of NASRDA, Matthew Adepoju, emphasized the need for collaboration between the agency and the private sector to develop the space ecosystem. He noted that the agency has done a lot of research and innovative breakthroughs, and is now focused on turning these into products and services for the benefit of Nigeria’s economy.
The Director and Coordinator of the AUAVL, Chichebe Akachukwu, emphasized the importance of local content development in the space sector. He noted that the materials for the agency’s drones are locally sourced and processed, and that the agency is working to develop indigenous capacity in satellite technology, astronomy, and space science.
This development is a significant step forward for Nigeria’s space program, and is expected to have a positive impact on the country’s economy and development.
