Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has commended the donation of specialised communication equipment to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) by global satellite internet provider, Starlink.
He described Nigeria’s collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, one of the world’s largest satellite internet constellations, as a major step toward improving emergency and disaster management systems in the country. According to him, the partnership will significantly enhance NEMA’s response time and coordination, which he described as critical to effective emergency intervention.
Senator Shettima made the remarks in Abuja on Tuesday during a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa by a delegation from NEMA and SpaceX, led by the Director General of NEMA, Hajiya Zubaida Umar.
He noted that communication remains central to human survival, especially during emergencies such as flooding and other disasters, adding that partnerships with technology providers like Starlink would strengthen Nigeria’s disaster response capacity.
The Vice President also commended NEMA’s efforts and assured that the donated equipment would be efficiently deployed and properly utilized by personnel at designated stations across the country.
Earlier, the NEMA Director General, Hajiya Zubaida Umar, expressed appreciation to SpaceX for providing high-speed satellite internet hardware and data plans to support emergency response and disaster management operations in Nigeria.
She disclosed that the donation includes 91 standard and mini Starlink kits, which will help address communication challenges in underserved and hard-to-reach areas across the country.
According to her, NEMA plans to deploy the equipment to 50 strategic flashpoints nationwide, while also upgrading its command-and-control centre to enhance coordination and emergency response operations.
A representative of SpaceX Starlink, Mr. Peter Kroetger, praised Nigeria’s disaster preparedness framework, noting that despite challenges in technology adoption and integration, the country has demonstrated strong commitment to effective emergency management.
He added that NEMA’s operational structure makes it well-positioned to effectively deploy satellite communication technology for disaster response.
Also present at the meeting were the agency’s Director of ICT, Mr. Justin Uwazuruonye; Director of Search and Rescue, Air Cdre B.A. Usman; and Mary Owolabi of SpaceX, among others.
