The Federal Government has appointed Dr. Halilu Shaba Ahmad as the acting Director-General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), following the expiration of the two-term tenure of Professor Seidu Mohammed.
Dr. Shaba is one of the most senior directors in the Space Research agency.
A graduate of Geography from Bayero University Kano with Masters Degree from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, he obtained and Ph.D. in Remote Sensing from the Federal University of Technology, Minna in 2000.
He started his career as a cartographer at the National Population Commission in 1989, before he returned to the Federal University of Technology, Minna where he was a lecturer and Deputy Dean.
He was also Deputy Director Planning and Research at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) before he was appointed Director of Strategic Space Applications at the National Space Research and Development Agency since 2009 before his current appointment.
An expert in Geosciences and Geomatics, specializing in Satellite Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems, Dr. Shaba has been a Member of Nigerian Delegation to United Nations Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS); Joint Expert Group (JEG8) on the implementation of an integrated AU-EU Joint Strategy under the 8th Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space; Extended Coordinating Team of Global Monitoring of the Environment & Africa (GMES & Africa); and Executive Committee Member & GEO Principal for Nigeria, Group on Earth Observation (GEO), Geneva, Switzerland.
He is also Member of Nigerian Delegation to United Nations Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UN-COPUOS), Joint Expert Group (JEG8) on the implementation of an integrated AU-EU Joint Strategy under the 8th Partnership on Science, Information Society and Space, Extended Coordinating Team of Global Monitoring of the Environment & Africa (GMES & Africa), and Executive Committee Member & GEO Principal for Nigeria, Group on Earth Observation (GEO), Geneva, Switzerland.