The Federal Government will soon introduce regulation and licensing for players in Nigeria’s space ecosystem to boost revenue generation.
The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji made this known on Thursday during the inauguration of the Advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Laboratory at the National Space Research and Development Agency in Abuja.
The event was part of the activities marking Nigeria’s 25th anniversary in space exploration, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria.
Highlighting the potential of satellite technology, Nnaji pointed out its ability to address illegalities across various sectors, particularly oil and gas.
“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,” Nnaji said.
He emphasized the role of unmanned aerial vehicles in monitoring critical infrastructure and enhancing revenue.
“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,” he explained.
Nnaji further disclosed that many ships entering Nigerian ports evade fees by turning off their systems, a loophole that satellite monitoring can close.
“More than 80 percent 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,” he added.
In his remarks, NASRDA’s Director-General, Matthew Adepoju, underscored the agency’s focus on turning research into practical applications that benefit the economy.
“We have done a lot of research, innovative breakthroughs and one of my major priorities is how to turn these into products and services for direct benefit to Nigeria’s economy,” Adepoju stated.
He also highlighted ongoing collaborations with Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited and the Defence Space Administration, emphasizing the importance of partnerships in advancing the space ecosystem.
“Part of our core mandate is to develop indigenous capacity not only in satellite, but also in astronomy and all facets of space science and technology, hence the AUAVL. The application of the UAV which we call drones has become a widely acceptable platform for environment monitoring, and precision agriculture,” Adepoju explained.
The AUAVL Director and Coordinator, Chichebe Akachukwu, reiterated the commitment to local content development in line with Presidential Executive Order 005.
According to him, the drones are built using locally sourced materials and designed to meet specific requirements in China or the U.S.
“The drone we have is for precision agriculture, which makes you spend less energy and achieve optimal harvest. You can also use it for surveillance. We also have a drone that can be used for long-distance and long-endurance missions, including pipeline monitoring and other surveillance activities,” Akachukwu said.
He added that the new facility in Abuja complements an existing laboratory in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, providing collaborators easy access within the Federal Capital Territory.
The event concluded with the launch of NASRDA’s International Journal of Space Technology and Earth Sciences by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Esuabana Nko-Asanye.
