By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has alleged that Nigeria is losing over one trillion Naira from the operations of space-related corporations.
Agbakoba disclosed the development in a letter he wrote to the Minister of Science and Technology, Senator Adeleke Mamora.
The senior advocate said that his team is compiling a list of those corporations, and that they will share the list with the ministry, the National Space Research Development Agency of Nigeria (NASRDA) and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The letter which bore the subject heading: “Licensing of Space Objects in Nigeria,’ was written on 6th February 2023.
Agbakoba stated in the letter thatFederal Government of Nigeria (FGN) is pressed for revenue and needs new streams of income to meet all obligations.
He said, “To support the government’s efforts to generate revenue, the National Space Council issued Regulations on Licensing and Supervision of Space Activities, 2015 approved by President Buhari.
“The regulation establishes a licensing regime that requires corporations managing and controlling space objects (which includes satellites, space crafts, and launch vehicles) to be licensed and registered with the National Space Research and Development Agency of Nigeria (NASRDA).
Regrettably, most corporations operating space objects in Nigeria have failed to comply and operate illegally. Our findings established that Nigeria is losing over N1 trillion from illegal operation of these corporations.
“We are compiling a list of these corporations which we intend to share with your Ministry, NASRDA, and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. It is important that these corporations comply with extant regulations, failing which after 14 days we will initiate legal proceedings for them to comply.”
A copy of the letter was sent to Dr. Halilu Ahmad Shaba, Director-General/Chief Executive ofNational Space Research and Development Agency.
