Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Postmaster General of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Dr Ismail Adewusi, has said that the performance of the postal service has not been impressive over the past couple of years.
Dr Adewusi made the assessment at a meeting with NIPOST District Area Managers in Abuja on Tuesday, saying that the performance of the Service is at its lowest.
“With all honesty and sincerity of purpose, our performance is at the lowest ebb. NIPOST has been a butt of public criticisms over perceived lapses such as late delivery, failure to meet up with the set target, loss of items, pilfering, the substitution of items and other associated sharp practices being perpetrated by NIPOST…
“This bad stigma has negatively affected us in terms of loss of revenue and low patronage,” the Postmaster General observed.
Dr Adewusi went on to point out that even though a lot of its personnel are industrious, the present condition of Service is very poor and disheartening. He said that after he assumed office a few months ago, in order to salvage the poor situation, he set up a committee to review the condition of service of NIPOST staff, adding that the committee was yet to submit its report.
Speaking on the controversial collection of stamp duties, which was purportedly said to be the statutory responsibility of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Postmaster General said the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy had waded into the matter with a view to resolving the issue.
Adewusi further said that the recent visit of the Senate Committee on Communications to the headquarters of NIPOST has rekindled their hope, saying the Committee promised to look into the Finance Bill and make necessary amendments with regard to the collection of stamp duty.
Adewusi further charged NIPOST staff to embrace hard work, discipline and eschew rumour-mongering. He said: “We need to change our ways of doing business due to the advent of Information Communication Technology and introduce e-base products.
“We have concluded that change is not optional and hence we embarked on restructuring, all in a bid to rejig our approach to work, recalibrate the Postal Service that we all will be proud of.
“Every one of us should see himself as a change agent of a new NIPOST. NIPOST would provide quality service in line with best global practices, an agency that will help the government drive Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria.”
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Operating Officer of NIPOST, Mrs Lovetto Nnakanwa, said NIPOST was navigating through serious stormy weather, occasioned by a plethora of challenges confronting the Service.
She charged the staff to work assiduously to restore the glory of the Service, adding that all hands must be on deck to take NIPOST to the next level.