NigComSat1R Crisis: How Nigeria Lost Control, Ramped Up N15bn Debt

A 2014 contract agreement between the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited and the China Great Wall Industry Corporation laid the foundation for the loss of control of the Nigeria Communications Satellite to China amidst the accumulation of $11.44m (about N15bn).

Documents available to our correspondent show that the NigComSat Limited entered into a contract with CGWIC for the secondary control of the satellite known as NigComSat1R from Kashi, China.

According to the contract, the Nigerian firm had an obligation to pay the sum of $350,000 per annum for the backup control of the satellite. 

However, the contract had a provision which stated that the fees would rise should the Chinese firm be required to provide primary control of the satellite.

That eventually happened in 2019 when the Ground Controlling Station of the Nigerian Communications Satellite was allegedly damaged by thunderstorm and Nigeria ceded control of the satellite to the Chinese firm which constructed the satellite in 2012.

Findings by our correspondent showed that CGWIC provided backup services from Kashi between March 15 2013 and March 14, 2014 for a sum of $350,000.

Similar services were also provided in the next four years for the same amount of money each year.

However, between March 15, 2018 and March 14, 2020, the sum jumped to $1,578,000. This was because the service rendered by CGWIC to NigComSat Limited had changed to primary control. The implication of this was that the Chinese firm was now in control of the satellite from Kashi.

Between March 15, 2019 and March 14, 2020, CGWIC offered primary control service to NigComSat Limited for a sum of $1,403,000 under new terms of contract.

Under the new terms, the Chinese firm rendered primary control services to the Nigerian satellite operator for the sum of $1,403,000 each year. For equipment repair, the Chinese company charged NigComSat $64,330. This brought the total debt sum to $10,907,330 as of March 14, 2024. Apart from infrastructure, the Chinese firm provided the staff that manned the Kashi centre.

When contacted for a response on Sunday, Head of Corporate Communications at NigComSat Limited, Mr. Stephen Kwande, requested to have copies of the documents available to our correspondent.

He said, “This amount is not known to us. Our business partners you claimed to have sighted their letter have distanced themselves completely from your story.”

THE WHISTLER had last week exclusively reported that CGWIC had in a letter dated March 9, 2026 threatened to withdraw its control service to NigComSat Limited over a debt of $11.44m as of March 14, 2025.

Following the report, the management of NigComSat Limited had dismissed the story as inaccurate and misinformation.

In an interview with a newspaper (not THE WHISTLER), Head of Corporate Communications at NigComSat Limited, Mr. Stephen Kwande, denied both the debt and the threat to shut down the satellite.

Kwande had said, “It is unclear where this misleading information is coming from. We have been in touch with our business partners, the executives and representatives of CGWIC in Nigeria, and they have made it clear they are not the ones giving out such information.

“Our relationship with our business partners CGWIC is not in any crisis as reported, and we continue to remain strong in our business relationship and partnership.”

Similarly, Jane Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director/CEO of NigComSat Limited, in an interview with Channels Television denied the story. She also insisted that Nigerians (locals) were in control of the satellite in the orbit.

Egerton-Idehen said, “It is always good to clear all the misinformation. We did have the first satellite that was launched in 2007. Of course, it failed and we relaunched NigComSat1R in 2011. It has been managed by the locals. We have no foreigner managing NigComSat1R. It is all Nigerians and locals managing NigComSat1R. We had a mishap sometime in 2020. Some parts of our service were affected. Some parts of that service were virtualised. It doesn’t mean you don’t operate your satellite.”

In a letter written to Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director/CEO, NigComSat Limited, the Chinese firm ruled out any discount since NigComSat Limited did not meet the conditions for a discount that had been granted in the past. The Chinese company also confirmed in the letter that it had held the primary control of the Nigerian satellite contrary to the Nigerian official denial.

CGWIC said, “NigComSat1R was delivered to NigComSat Limited in March 2012. In December 2014, NigComSat Limited and CGWIC signed agreement on Kashi Station Hot Standby Services of NigComSat1R, which includes two services:

1. 15 years hot standby services from Kashi ground station: annually USD 350,000;

2. Kashi Ground Station performing as the main control station: annually USD 1,403,000.

“Since 2013 -2018, Kashi performed hot standby services, and since 2018 main control services, the total outstanding sum is USD10,343,000.

“During this time, CGWIC also paid to repair or purchase needed equipment for Abuja and Kashi stations, the total outstanding payment is USD64,330. Thus, total USD 10,343 plus USD 564,330, and the total outstanding is $10,907,330.

“In 2023, NigComSat Limited raised the request to CGWIC about discount on the pending payment. After careful study and approval, CGWIC had agreed to reduce the debts on the condition that certain amount of payment should be made before a deadline and a payment plan is agreed by both parties. Unfortunately, the agreed conditions had not been made till now. Therefore, the agreement was not in effect.

“During the visit of NigComSat Limited in January, NigComSat requested for discount again. After the visit, CGWIC has tried all means possible to resolve the issue, but we are under great pressure as a commercial company, both internally by audit procedures and externally from our subcontractor.

“We cannot provide discount on the outstanding payment now. So, the outstanding payment due to CGWIC is USD10,907,330.”

THE WHISTLER had reported that CGWIC had threatened to shut down the Nigerian Communications Satellite from the orbit over failure by the Nigerian operator to pay it a debt of $11.44m accumulated in the last seven years.

In a letter written to the Managing Director of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited and copied to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Chinese company which constructed the Nigerian satellite gave NigComSat Limited 30 days to pay up the money or risk shutting down the satellite.

CGWIC had rescued NigComSat1R from collapse in the orbit in 2019 and thereafter entered into management contract with the Nigerian entity.

In the letter which was signed by the Director, Marketing, Africa at CGWIC, Liu Lan, the Chinese company asked the management of NigComSat Limited to inform its customers of the development because it wouldn’t guarantee the performance of the satellite should it fail to pay up the debt in 30 days.

Excerpt from the letter read, “As of December 31, 2025, the total net outstanding debt owed by NIGCOMSAT to CGWIC stands at USD11,442,335.89. This figure accounts for deductions for services NIGCOMSAT has been provided by us, yet the balance remains substantial and unresolved.

“Regrettably, despite our continuous provision of essential Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) services from Kashi, China, no payments have been received from NIGCOMSAT Ltd. since 2019.

“For the past seven years, CGWIC has deliberately delayed standard debt collection actions out of goodwill and a desire to ensure the continuity of Nigeria’s satellite operations.”

Nigeria’s first communications satellite, NigComSat-1, was designed and built by the CGWIC at a cost of $400m. The satellite, which was launched into the orbit in May 2007, was de-orbited in November 2008 following the development of power fault. It was replaced in December 2011 with NigComSat-1R by the same company. It has a lifespan of 15 years, meaning that by 2027, it is supposed to be deorbited.

Nigeria’s odyssey into space was officially heralded on September 27, 2003 with the launch of NigeriaSat-1. The earth observation satellite was procured from the Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom. The launch service was provided by the Kosmos-3M Rocket, Russia. Like NigComSat1R, the ground station of the Nigeria Sat-1 in Abuja had experienced similar challenges in the past with the ground station unable to control and print images from the satellite. The images were then printed from the control station in London.

Nigeria Sat-2, another earth observation satellite, was also built by SSTL and launched into the orbit on August 17, 2011. It was launched from Yasny, Russia aboard a Dnepr rocket. It is operated by the nation’s pioneer space agency, the National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA) as a successor to Nigeria Sat-1.

NigeriaSat-X, an experimental micro earth observation satellite, was also launched on August 17, 2011 alongside the Nigeria Sat-2. It was built by Nigerian engineers in partnership with SSTL, United Kingdom. Although it has a lifespan of five years, it is still operational in the orbit.

There are plans by the country to procure two additional communications satellites with many observers querying the rationale of such procurements which drain the nation’s financial resources instead of adding up to the balance sheet.