Mori-Baba Backs Independent Postal Commission

Mallam Ibrahim Mori-Baba, postmaster-general of the Federation has said that Nigeria needs an independent postal regulatory commission to ensure that Nipost and other courier companies in the country are monitored and regulated.

“For now we just register them, (Courier companies) and then monitor to see some of the basic things they shouldn’t do, and that is why we have been clamouring for an independent postal commission so that we too will be part of that regulation because for now we can’t be the referee and then be the footballer. We do not have sanctions that are really supposed to be done to some of these companies when they err,” he said

According to him, ‘the best we can do is to shut them when we discover that they are doing what are not supposed to do, but that is not enough.

Mori-Baba stated this during a visit the News Agency of Nigeria, added that they are supposed to be sub-charged, and taken to law court, but if you do that there is no basis for doing that and there is no policeman or any security person that will welcome that.

``No court will also entertain that because it is outside our jurisdiction.’’

Mori-Baba noted that efforts were ongoing to separate the functions of the operators from those of the regulators.

``One of the things government is looking at is to reform the postal sector, particularly the national operator which is the Nigerian Postal Service, is to separate the functions that we are now having and this functions are above being the operator and at the same time, being the regulator.

“The Nigerian Postal Service will be left as operator and then there will be the commission which will regulate the activities of the postal industry, including the Nigerian Postal Service which is a government organ or a national operator; a Nigerian courier company and the activities of other courier companies both international and national. As I speak with you we are waiting that this bill will be sent to the Federal Executive Council for approval before Mr President will past it to the National Assembly for enactment.’’

The post master-general also said that local contribution to stamps production had increased.

``We patronize the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company quite a lot, and sometimes we also invite people from outside to quote. The reason being that the philatelists – those who collect stamps – are very curious; they want to see the quality of these stamps..

He therefore encouraged Nigerians to affix a Nipost stamp on issued receipts whenever they performed financial transactions as it stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.