In a bit to appropriately fulfil its core mandate and the main thrust of its establishment, the National Space Research and Development Agency, (NASRDA) on Wednesday in Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with three organizations aimed at making space science and technology applications an integral part of the overall strategies for sustainable national development.
The three organizations are: Kaduna State University, University of Ilorin and Atlantic Factorial Limited.
Speaking at the event, the Director General of NASRDA, Prof. Seidu O. Mohammed reiterated the Agency’s readiness to partner with other allied organizations towards making space and Science and Technology spinoffs available to the ordinary man on the street.
The DG, who stressed the need for functional MoUs between the Agency and its partners, also maintained that the Agency’s door remains open for those that are interested in the diversification of our national economy through scientific and technological applications.
The three organizations who spoke through their respective representative commended the leadership style of the Director General and the Agency’s leadership for their vision oriented commitments to advancing Space science and Technological activities in Nigeria, saying that, tertiary institutions in the country have benefited a lot in research through satellite imageries obtained from the nation’s orbiting satellites.
On his part, the Director of Strategic Space Application, Dr. Shaba, who gave the vote of thanks at the event, called on the Agency’s partners to go beyond the euphoria of signing MoU and be committed to working their own part of the partnership, adding that, the Agency has been giving out satellite data to tertiary institutions in the country that worth over 120m Naira annually at no cost.
