Fresh Impetus for Postal Industry as FEC Considers Reform Bills

Players in the Nigerian postal/courier industry were jubilant last night as the federal executive council (FEC) considered the Postal Reform Bill, a set of all important documents touted as transformative for the postal industry.

This is coming almost 10 years after stakeholders began moves to rejig the industry.

Sources close to the FEC meeting said that the council deliberated on two bills expected to check sharp practices by the private sector and improve services in the postal sector in line with the reforms taking place in the economy.

The two bill are the  Federal Competition and Protection Bill; and the Nigerian Postal Commission Bills.

 The two bills were sponsored by President Goodluck Jonathan.

 Briefing reporters after the meeting, Mr Labaran Maku, minister of Information, said a committee, headed by Architect Namadi Sambo, vice president, has been set up to finalise issues on the two bills before their transmission to the National Assembly.

 The Council believes that a legal framework to back-up the reforms in different sectors of the economy should be put in place to reduce the risk of hijacking the privatisation process by a few people in the private sector to the detriment of the Nigerian consumers.

According to the Information Minister, while the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Bill will check anti trade practices, the Nigerian Postal Commission Bill will open up the postal sector for greater competition and faster delivery of parcels anywhere in the country.

The committee headed by the Vice President is expected to fine tune the two bills in two weeks’ time before sending same to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law.

Reacting to new arrays of hope, Mr Siyanbola Oladapo, national president of the Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO), said that the deliberation is a clear indication of the Federal Government coming to terms with the need for proper regulation of the industry which loses close to N300 billion annually. 

He said, “It shows that the Federal Government now sees what we have been commenting on. When the Bill is eventually based to Law, it is going to open the sector. We hope it does not drag any longer because the past National Assembly had reach to the stage of second reading of a similar Bill.

“However, we commend the Federal Executive Council for seeing the need to dust up the Bill. It is the tool the industry needs to heave a great sigh of relief.

Okey Uba, general secretary of ANCO extolled the consideration of the Postal Reform Bill by the FEC as a welcome development.

He advocated for private operators be allowed make inputs to the deliberations.  “Operators in the Postal and Courier Industry should have adequate input in the FEC deliberations as they are the real players that understand where the pains and gains of the business revolve. With this however, a positive course is being charted for the Postal Industry”.

Toyin Adeojo, publicity secretary of ANCO, described the FEC’s moves as great, adding that it is a journey of a thousand miles that has once again started on a right step. “This is a right step in the right direction and a chapter is opened in the history book of courier in Nigeria”.

Lara Okuneye, vice president of ANCO said, “It is a long awaited development that will surely steer the course of our growing industry in the right path of greatness”.

The postal industry in Nigeria had during the a summit in 2013 decried government’s negligence of the sector and called for swift passage of the Bill.