'Nigerians will go to space before 2030' - Technology minister

folarin okunola

March 28, 2016 7:48 AM

The minister said the Federal Government was working hard and setting processes in place to ensure that Nigerian astronauts landed in space on or before 2030.

The Progress spacecraft docking at the ISS in January 2014

Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, in Abuja, said a Nigerian astronaut would land in space on or before 2030, according to media reports.

Onu made the statement during a Defence Space Agency mangement team visit, led by Air Vice Marshal Victor Udoh, director-general of the agency.

The minister said the Federal Government was working hard and setting processes in place to ensure that Nigerian astronauts landed in space on or before 2030.

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“The space programme is very important for a country like Nigeria. The ministry will work very hard in the years ahead to strengthen all the structures of the agencies that will help us to ensure that the nation plays a role in the space,” Onu said.

According to the minister, space “is a major asset which nations like Nigeria must also be involved in for the purposes of protecting national interest.”

Earlier in the visit, Udoh also said the agency would like to collaborate with the ministry in order to be more efficient and effective.

folarin okunola