Senate has threatened the complete privatisation of the Nigerian Postal Service if the agency continues to operate at a loss.
Gatekeepers News reports that on Tuesday, the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, issued the warning during the continuation of the 2024-2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework public hearing at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The Chairman, while quizzing the Post-Master General of the Federation, Omotola Odeyemi, criticized the lack of functionality of NIPOST offices across the country and the plunging revenue generation, particularly from stamp duties.
The committee therefore directed the PMG to provide the names of all staff members of the organisation, allocation, and salary to the committee for further investigation.
It also gave NIPOST two years to establish a plan on how to revamp the service and change the business model to achieve self-sustenance rather than operating at a loss, otherwise, it would enact legislation to ensure total privatisation.
Odeyemi provoked the senators when she said her agency projected N18bn as personnel cost for the NIPOST 16, 000 workers across the country.
Musa stressed that NIPOST could increase its personnel cost from N13bn in 2023 to N18bn in 2024.
The explanation of the Postmaster General that the increment was a result of the recent hike in personnel cost by the Federal Government to federal workers still fell on deaf ears.
A member of the joint panel, Senator Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT) attempted to defend the continued existence of NIPOST as a partially funded agency of the federal government claiming that every nation deserves its vibrant postal agency.
She said, “NIPOST should not be scrapped but should be turned into a revenue-generating agency.
“The only thing is that the agency was stuck in the 19th Century of analog operation instead of migrating to digital service for efficient services.
“There is nothing stopping NIPOST from digitalise their offices across the country to offer electronic services for Nigerians, deliver government services at all local government areas and even engage in financial services.”
Kingibe had hardly ended her submission when Senator Osita Izunaso (APC, Imo West) disagreed with her.
Izunaso argued that the NIPOST as it is currently structured, should not be encouraged if the country was interested in generating revenues to fund its annual budgets.
Ruling on the matter, the Chairman of the joint panel asked the Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST to forward to the committee, details of her business plan to reposition the agency into a highly revenue-generating agency.
He said, “NIPOST should have been fully privatised before now because nobody is feeling their impact anywhere in the country.
“We are ready to recommend to the Senate in plenary, the full privatisation of the NIPOST except the Postmaster General convinces us otherwise.
“The CEO of NIPOST should forward to the secretariat of our committee details of her business model on how the agency would be generating adequate revenues for the country through creative ideas.
“Failure to do this would leave the Senate with no other option than to recommend the full privatisation of NIPOST.”
