FG to revive $470m Abuja CCTV project

The federal government is to revive the $470 million National Public Security Communication System, including the vandalised Abuja and Lagos Closed Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV), the Nigeria Communication Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT), has disclosed in Abuja.
Head of Telecommunication Service, Musa Otaru, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the federal government was making effort to revive the communication system in view of its security significance.
Contract for the project was awarded in 2010 to a Chinese firm, ZTE Nigeria Limited, to provide audio, video and data information for use by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies.
The contract provided for installation of five components, including the video surveillance system and comprehensive, reliable, modern and robust public security communication technology.
Otaru said that efforts were being made by the government to have other means of bringing the project to completion.
“There is a new effort by the government to bring up the network and it is still working on that for the use of the system.
“Since this government came in, it has called all the stakeholders and we are expecting good result very soon.
“The project was conceived by the federal government to capacitate the ability of the Nigeria security agencies to fight insurgency or rising insecurity,’’ he said.
It was conceived by the administration of late President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008 during a visit to China and by August 2010, the contract was signed for the deployment of NPSCS.
According to Otaru, the project is owned by the Ministry of Police Affairs and it cuts across the 36 states and FCT, while NIGCOMSAT is a consultant to the implementation.