NIPOST will be unbundled, not privatized, says BPE

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has clarified that the ongoing reform of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) is not aimed at privatising the entity but to unbundle NIPOST into viable subsidiary companies which will operate on the principle of commercial viability.

Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr Alex A. Okoh made the clarification while stating that the core postal service function will remain with NIPOST as the parent company.

In a Statement by Amina Tukur Othman, Head, Public Communications at the BPE said the DG found it necessary to make the clarification while inaugurating the sub-committee of the implementation committee for the postal sector reform, restructuring & modernisation of NIPOST.

The DG named the three commercial ventures to be carved out of NIPOST as NIPOST Properties & Development Company; NIPOST Transport & Logistics Company and NIPOST Microfinance bank Limited.

He said the clarification became necessary to disabuse the minds of many Nigerians especially the workforce of NIPOST that the commercialization, reform and modernization of the organization was outright privatisation.

Okoh said that in line with the reform process, the Bureau had completed the registration of NIPOST Properties & Development Company and NIPOST Transport & Logistics Company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) while the process for registration at CAC and also that of obtaining regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for NIPOST Microfinance bank had also commenced.

The Director-General reiterated that the benefits of the reform of the sector include the Provision of efficient postal services and utilisation of vast assets of NIPOST across the country; reduction in funding from the treasury in terms of subventions to NIPOST (c. N7.2 billion) and the operation and growth of ancillary services and business to enhance the overall efficiency of NIPOST to create more jobs.

He said the Sub-Committee to be chaired by the Director, Industries & Communication, BPE will include representatives of the Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy, Ministry of Finance Incorporated and NIPOST.

“The Sub-Committee will be responsible for “Creation and adoption of an implementation plan and charting the course for implementation of KPMG’s Final report, Initiate strategies to be adopted in the implementation of the NIPOST reform programme and the establishment of the three companies”, it stated.