The Federal Government has announced the appointment of Mr Jonathan Angulu as the acting Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). The announcement was made on Tuesday through a statement signed in Abuja by NASRDA’s Head, Media and Corporate Communications Dr Felix Ale.
According to Dr Ale, Mr Angulu’s appointment came via a letter referenced FMST/DAS/385/II/T.
In the letter, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr Bitrus Nabasu, conveyed government’s approval for Mr Angulu who is the most senior director in hierarchy to take over the mantle of leadership of the NASRDA in acting capacity.
Speaking in Abuja shortly after receiving the handover note from the outgone director-general of the agency, Prof Seidu Mohammed, Mr. Angulu called for a cohesive front in a bid to further strengthen the development and historic achievements of the agency which is today known as the number one premier space agency in Africa.
Mr Angulu, who thanked God for his appointment, also described his coming on board as divine and reward for hard work. He called on both the management and staff of the agency to continue to put in their best for the successful implementation of the space road map for the overall benefit of the entire citizenry.
The new NASRDA boss said he is ready to deploy all strategies in the arsenal of leadership to further propel the development of the Nigerian space programme. He said for the agency to be able to continue on the path towards realizing its mandate, there is need for discipline on the part of every member of staff, stressing that punctuality and commitment to work are paramount in the pursuance and realization of the collective mandates of the agency.
Earlier, in his farewell address, the outgone Director-General, Prof Mohammed expressed gratitude to God for a successful outing as the helm’s man of Nigeria’s premiere space agency for two tenures. He said under his watch, Nigeria, has become a leader in the space race in Africa and a global player in the space science and technology sector. Mr Angulu was until his appointment as acting director general of the agency, the most senior director and he was in charge of procurement and projects.