Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo Monday signed an order authorizing award of a contract for the installation, launch and servicing of Nigeria's second satellite, NIGCOMSAT-2, to China. Obasanjo signed the order in Abuja shortly before Nigeria and China signed three agreements on technology transfer, cooperation in oil and gas sector and telecommunications technology transfer. NIGCOMSAT-2, a communications satellite, is scheduled to be launched in 2006, after the successful launch of NigeriaSat-1 in Russia last year. "Wherever China wants to go, Nigeria also wants to go there. Sooner or later China will go to the moon, Nigeria, too, wants to be there," Obasanjo said at the ceremony. The signing of the agreements and memorandum of understanding was the highlight of a visit to Obasanjo by a large Chinese delegation led by Wu Bang Guo, chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese National Peoples Congress. Obasanjo thanked the Chinese government for approving a grant of 2.25 million dollars in aid of economic and technology programmes in Nigeria, assuring that his administration would make good use of the grant. --More 2235 Local Time 1935 GMT
