Reps want N24 billion approval for NIGCOMSAT

The House of Representatives on Thursday urged the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, to grant approval to NIGCOMSAT limited to source N24 billion funding for NigComSat-2 and NigComSat-3 communication satellites.

The fund is to be sourced from Development Banks, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Bilateral and Multilateral International Credit Institutions and other financing agencies.

The House however mandated its committees on Information Technology, National Planning and Economic Development, Appropriations and Legislative Compliance to examine the feasibility and relevance of the procurement by NIGCOMSAT Ltd of NigComSat-2 and NigComSat-3 communication satellites.

The committees are also expected to consider the adequacy or otherwise of the proposed sum of N24bn for the project and report back to the House within six weeks for further legislative action.

The House resolution followed a motion moved by the Chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, Hon. Oluwole Oke, who said that, NIGCOMSAT as an agency of the federal government has the mandate to commercialize satellite resources commencing with the NigComSat generation communication satellites.

According to him, “in May 2007, NIGCOMSAT Ltd launched its first geostationary satellite, NigComSat-1 into orbit as a result of Solar Array Deployment Assembly (SADA) but NigComSat-1 was de-orbited on 10 November 2008 and was replaced in December 2011 with an improved replica, NigComSat-1R, which has a 15 year minimum lifespan.”

The lawmaker however said that NigComSat-1R had played significant roles since its launch into orbit. Those roles include astronomical increase in internally generated revenue to numerous downstream clients through the supply of satellite broadband for their services such as the provision of In-Orbit Testing (IOT) and Carrier Spectrum Management (CSM) services rendered to the Belarus Government valued at about N1.6 billion annually.

He added that the company provides communication pathways to our security services and agencies in areas where they cannot deploy wired and wireless services.

In furtherance, Oke said NigComSat-1R is being deployed in the war against terrorism, secured communication and intelligence gathering, specifically through the provision of encrypted data through its superhighway.

He observed the need to support the indigenous communication satellite industry in Nigeria, most specifically in the area of increasing the availability of bandwidth through the procurement of additional communication satellites designed specifically for the Nigerian and African terrain and market, in the form of NigComSat-2 and NigComSat-3.

The motion scaled through when the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara put the motion to vote.