Nigeria’s procurement process for six new satellites has reached 95%, the head of the country’s space agency said on Friday, October 2, 2026, with agreements with foreign technical partners expected in November.
Professor Matthew Olumide Adepoju, director-general of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), gave the update in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
“Currently, there is a procurement procedure which we are at 95 per cent level now,” he said.
The proposed fleet comprises three optical Earth-observation satellites, one synthetic aperture radar satellite and two communications satellites identified as NigComSat-2A and NigComSat-2B.
Adepoju said memoranda of understanding and contractual agreements with foreign partners were expected at the African Space Economy, Innovation and Communication Conference in November.
The milestone concerns the procurement procedure. It does not mean that the satellites have been manufactured, delivered or launched.
NASRDA also plans an Assembly, Integration and Testing Laboratory for local satellite development. Adepoju said the facility was expected to be commissioned 18 months after the contract is signed.
Okay News reports that the conference’s official website lists November 24–27, 2026 for the NASRDA-organised event in Abuja.
The procurement work follows an expression-of-interest notice published by NASRDA on December 7, 2025, inviting international firms, consortia and space agencies to propose collaboration on optical and radar satellites and a modular assembly and testing facility.
That notice identified agriculture, disaster management, security and climate monitoring among the national priorities the planned capabilities would support.
In a separate update published on September 29, NASRDA said its conference organising committee had met Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited officials in Abuja to discuss preparations and the company’s participation.
