NSCDC Boss Pays Courtesy Visit to NIGCOMSAT
- Posted in News
The Commandant General (CG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abdullahi Gana Muhammadu and his team paid a visit to the Abuja Ground Station of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT). The visit is the first of its kind since assumption of office of the CG. He was received and welcomed by the Managing Director/Chief Executive (MD/CE) of NIGCOMSAT, Ms. Abimbola Alale accompanied by her Executive Management team.
Alale told the delegation about NIGCOMSAT’s readiness to partner with NSCDC in the critical area of ensuring lasting security to lives and property of Nigerians. She also made mention of other services rendered by NIGCOMSAT that would be of great benefit to the Corps.
The delegation was taken round the facility to see first-hand, some of the activities carried out by the company. At the Network Operation Centre (NOC), Engr. Tope Yoosuf gave an insight among which were Carrier Spectrum Management for the Belarusian Satellite, Belintersat-1, managing customers and bandwidth ensuring everybody gets real value for their money with optimal satisfaction.
At the Satellite Application Department (SAD), Engr. Abdulwaheed Kolawale took the entourage through the process of managing the satellite from the Ground Station ensuring a clean bill of health at all times. He said there was no room for the slightest error because any form of mistake no matter how little could lead to collateral damage. Messages and commands are received and sent to the satellite NigComSat-1R which is at about 36,000km up in space with an orbital slot of 42.5˚E. The satellite is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Head, Innovation and Development Department, Engr. Ahmed Saddiq showed the delegation some of the additional services that could be found at NIGCOMSAT which included an e-voting platform, Micro SAACS (Staff Attendance and Access Control System) Terminal, Smart Home IOT (Internet of Things) as well as PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Typing.
The CG showed his appreciation and couldn’t hide his amusement; “I was highly impressed with what I saw at NIGCOMSAT. We shall partner with you. I am so surprised when we got in here saying so we have such in Nigeria”. He gave a brief history of NSCDC which started as a voluntary organization after the Nigerian Civil War. CG Gana said considering core mandate of the NSCDC in the area of protecting critical infrastructure such as pipelines, masts, guarding mining sites, curbing cattle rustling and a lot more, NIGCOMSAT becomes really handy. He also said the country must be well secured for foreign investors to come in. According to him, “Protection of citizens and other residents by way of a having a comprehensive data base cannot be over emphasized and on that too, we can partner with you”.
The General Manager, SAD of NIGCOMSAT Engr. Abdulraheem Adajah on the issue of pipeline vandalism said “We are part of the committee set up by the Federal Government on pipeline vandalisation. We have applications to monitor such activities””. He went further to explain how the KA Band on NigComSat-1R could to deliver such services seamlessly.
The CG was accompanied by Engr. Jonathan Iyogho, Assistant Commandant Generral, Critical Infrastructure, Musa Bala, Deputy Commandant General, the CDPRO, ACC Emmanuel Okeh among others.
