- Commercialising NIGCOMSAT to Gulp N2bn
The process of commercialising Nigerian Communications Satellite known as NigComSat-1R will gulp about N2bn, the Ministry of Communications has said.
A media consultant to the Ministry of Communications, Tajudeen Kareem, said this in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday, which also announced the appointment of three executive directors at the company.
Kareem said the appointment of the three executive directors for NigComSat Limited was part of a five-year strategic plan to reposition the company.
He said that the immediate repositioning plan sought to commercialise Nigeria’s satellite infrastructure to generate revenue with direct to home and broadband connectivity across the country.
The plan is estimated to cost N2bn with the prospect of generating N5bn in the first five years of commercialisation.
The new executive directors are Mr. Samson Osagie (Marketing and Business Development), Alhaji Abubakar Muhammad (Finance and Administration), and Mr. Kazeem Raji (Engineering Services).
It quoted the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, as saying the appointees – seasoned professionals with private sector background – would fill existing vacancies to support the substantive Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Abimbola Alale, to strengthen corporate governance for appropriate positioning of the agency.
Shittu also hinted that NigComSat Limited would pursue an aggressive plan to bridge the limitations to broadband access through communications satellite across the country.
“The viability of the communications satellite industry remains bright as the industry is the largest and most successful of all commercial space enterprises, generating more than $203bn globally in 2014 from $89bn in 2005.
“It is anticipated that this figure will double in 2020. Nigeria must not be left behind in harnessing the huge, profitable market to its optimal advantage,” the minister was quoted to have said.
