NIPOST dumps planned banking services for postal, money orders
…revokes licenses of 14 Courier firms, seals 2
Indications have emerged that the planned transformation of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to a digital banking services provider may have been finally jettisoned by the federal government.
The agency which is in control of logistics and Parcel services has also revoked the operating licences of 14 firms and also sealed the operational premises of two.
Rather, the agency is set to inaugurate an online Postal and Money Order as part of activities to commemorate the World Post Day coming up on Monday next week.
It would be recalled that the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the world postal body sets aside every Oct. 9 as the world postal body.
It is a day where its members all over the world review postal activities in each country annually with a view to celebrating achievements and set new objectives and strategies for enhanced postal service.
Industry watchers had followed the Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu since last year when he said that the agency would be transformed to a digital banking outfit based on its reach and digital inclusion processes he is bringing into the agency.
But the body language of the Minister since this year has shown that the policy has been somersaulted.
There were unconfirmed reports that a group of commercial banks had approached him and discouraged him to transform NIPOST based on the fear that it will not only change the narratives in retail banking, but cause the sudden death of some banks that lacks what it takes to compete after all.
A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communications of NIPOST in Abuja, Mr. Franklin Alao, said the portal is aimed at bringing postal service at par with best global practices.
He said NIPOST was taking advantage of the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) era to introduce into its operations a number of innovative products that would change the face of postal service in the country.
