By Emmanuel Elebeke

FEDERAL government is taking steps to move the Nigerian Postal Services, NIPOST from the traditional personal delivery system to online platform to facilitate the nation’s digital inclusion plan.

A report from the Ministry of Communication Technology identified NIPOST as a critical facilitator in the nation’s digital inclusion plan.

The NIPOST was originally set up by the British government in the 19th century, and is about undergoing the baptism of digital revolution as mandated by the ministry.

The Ministry is of the view that despite the daunting challenges being faced by federal government to digitise the nation’s moribund postal services, it has the capacity and potentials to open a new vista for robust economic gains if fully digitised with the deployment of it’s over 516 branches across the country.

The Nigerian Postal Services has a presence in around two-third of the country’s 774 local government agencies, with plan to establish more branches in the remaining one-third in the future.

Federal government had in 1987, split the postal and telecommunications interests into two separate entities, forming NIPOST along with Nigerian Telecommunications, NITEL.

NITEL was then, accorded priority attention, while NIPOST and the postal sector as a whole were subject to neglect, despite the huge potentials lying in the sub-sector.

In realization of these potentials, the MCT resolved to capitalise on the NIPOST’s large branch network, increasing its role as a platform for inclusion, as well as to clarify the company’s mandate and reduce regulatory bottle necks militating against a better and efficient performance of the agency. 

Reform steps: As part of efforts to realise the digitization of the agency, federal government through the supervising ministry has crafted a bill that will strengthen it and increase the role of the postal operator as a logistics agent and a communications provider and break up NIPOST’s current regulatory function by removing it from the body’s remit and transforming the agency into a wholly commercial operator.

According to the report, the idea is that the change will improve competition with the country’s 250 registered courier companies and reduce the conflicting roles NIPOST had as both a regulator and service provider in the short and long term period.

Also,  by establishing an independent and more singularly focused regulator, the report believes that the new body would be capable enough to effectively clamp down on the proliferation of grey market operators that have emerged in recent years.

The reform is said to be a fall out of a study conducted in 2008 that analysed the future options of NIPOST, which ultimately recommended corporatisation rather than privatisation based on the level of common good the agency provides and the need to maintain equitable access to basic postal services.

Equitable access

The Postmaster General, NIPOST, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba, was quoted as saying that corporatisation of the agency is preferable to privatisation for a postal organisation like NIPOST to effectively deliver on its social and universal service obligations, as well as offer public interest services.

When completed, the initiative will allow NIPOST to seek financing from the capital markets, which may be critical for achieving its ambitious agenda.

A reformed NIPOST has also been identified by the ministry as an essential distribution channel to expand the take up of IT services, including e-government, e-commerce and e-payment activities, adding that the new role  for NIPOST is important, given the low level of penetration of IT access in Nigeria currently.