From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja.

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Minister of Communications, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, yesterday called on the National Assembly to expedite action in passing the Postal Reform Bill and other related bills aimed at restructuring the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
He made the call while launching two documents; Restructuring and Modernising Nigerian Postal Service and NIPOST Vision 2020 and inaugurating a steering committee for NIPOST Reformation in Abuja.
He said government needed the collaboration and synergy of the National Assembly to deliver on its campaign promises to Nigerians by expediting actions on bills targeted at social reformation.
The minister charged the lawmakers to give the bill serious attention: “We will appreciate that the bill is considered expeditiously important to the socio-economic policy thrust of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.”
He stated that the bill sought the amendment of all the existing postal service laws to give effect to the recommendations of the NethPost Consultancy of The Netherlands and all other interest groups working with the ministry, NIPOST and other stakeholders in the postal services.
According to him, though NIPOST reformation was not part of the APC campaign promises, but he initiated moves to reposition NIPOST, one of the oldest public institutions to be widely accepted in terms of efficient and effective postal services delivery, to be socially relevant, economically viable and internationally acceptable.
“Objectives of the Postal Sector Reform Plan are premised on; establishing a low cost universal postal service that provides a solid communication medium and link nationwide; providing a safe and efficient postal service that is sustainable and keep space with developments in the rest of the world; introducing private sector participation and the development of the postal service into a commercially viable entrepreneurial conglomerate and creating a convenient means of savings mobilization and payment/ funds transfer system for the entire country through the postal network,” he said.
To operate on a commercial driven orientation, Shittu said the reform would unbundle NIPOST to profit-driven subsidiaries such as; NIPOST Digital Financial Services Limited (PostBank); NIPOST Property & Development Company Limited; NIPOST Transport and Logistics Limited; NIPOST Merchandizing Limited (e-Commerce) and NIPOST General Services Support Limited (e-Government).
The Post Master General (PMG), Mr. Bisi Adegbuyi, disclosed that the management of NIPOST in the interim took a step at tinkering with reformation through certain restructuring steps:
“It is in this spirit, therefore, that the new management of NIPOST crafted this four-year strategic plan (NIPOST Vision 2020, from 2017 -2020) to guide the implementation.