ANCO Ready to Partner NIPOST on Postage Stamp

The Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) has offered to help the Federal Government to increase its revenue generation through postage stamp.

Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek at ANCO temporary secretariat in Lagos, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo, applauded the recent inauguration of Mr Bisi Adegbuyi as the new post master-general (PMG) of the federation (PMGoF) and the chief executive of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), with a call for urgent stakeholders’ forum to chart a new course for the sector. 

Oladapo cited the recent drives by the Federal Government to earn more revenue through stamp duty enforcements as a course the private operators should be given opportunity to contribute their quotas.

The Stamp duty act is principally a financial regulation but its implementation is exercised through the use of Postage stamps. bulk users like hotels, nepa, water boards, landowners’, banks, the stock exchange market and other big businesses can hire agents, Tax Meter Machines for the purpose of putting on impression demoting the amount of stamp duty with dates.

Users of these machines are expected to obtain licenses from the Local Head Postmaster and Payment in advance in respect of stamps used must be made from time to time.

However, Oladapo told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that, “Actually, licensed private operators ought to be given opportunity to help in the process. The issue is that government tends to be ‘naive’ in carrying the private sector along. Now, right from the planning stage, we should be involved, because it is an issue that concerns us, our businesses and sector, but they wouldn’t do that rather at the implementation stage, you are told to participate. No! That is setting us up. However, we are always out to help the system’s growth and blossom. That is why ANCO strongly believe that the new PMG should not hesitate to organise stakeholders’ meeting.

“If we succeed in opening up this system, what has happened in the telecom sector will be a child’s play. The question is: are we ready to harness the opportunities in the courier sector?

“First, let’s kill bureaucracy. Now that NIPOST is due for full commercialization, bureaucracy must not thrive again. Private operators should have access to the PMG, especially, for idea sharing.

“On the issue of the (postage) stamp duty, what we need to do now is dialogue, arriving at processes beneficial to all parties. We can offer government ideas on how to go about it. NIPOST must see us as partners and not competitors”. 

He said that as an Association, ANCO believes Nigeria is seated on trillions of naira worth of wealth, “when you consider the stamp duty charges and other untapped resources in the industry.

“ANCO is a body that believes in the change agenda of the government; partner with us, which is the right thing to so. By so doing, you are even injecting lives to small businesses for survival. If you give ANCO a certain percentage of stamp duty charges to collect on behalf of the government, we will drive it vigorously.

“We know our members, we are disciplined and we are coordinated. And knowing we are going to benefit from this, the Association will even work harder to generate more revenue for the Federal Government. Government has been losing money for delimiting bodies like ANCO. We have networks even in the hinterlands,” the ANCO President said.

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