Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Minister of Communications, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, has said that imposing licensing fees on courier companies was not part of the guidelines he earlier approved for the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
The Minister who responded to the social media outrage via his official Twitter handle, said that his office has instructed NIPOST to halt the implementation of the newly approved guideline.
Pantami said: “Please @NipostNgn, our attention has been drawn to an increase of licence fee, which was not part of the regulation I earlier approved for you. Your Chair and PMG (Post Master General) were yesterday contacted to put the implementation on hold and send a report to our ministry by Monday. Best wishes.”
The new charges introduced by NIPOST were expected to cause a surging increase in the cost of courier services and delivery of goods. Over 60,000 Nigerian Twitter users had taken to social media to campaign against the regulation calling it outrageous.
According to NIPOST, companies which provide international courier services are expected to pay N20m for a new licence and N8m yearly renewal while those who offer national services are expected to pay N10m for licence and N4m yearly for renewal.