NIPOST Bows to Pressure, Slashes Operating Fees

Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) at weekend shifted grounds with the downward review of the licensing and renewal fees which have torn NIPOST and courier operators apart since 2012, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.

Malam Mori Baba, postmaster general of the Federation in a formal letter NIP/CRD/LIC-REN/Vol.11 and dated March 10, sent to the Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) and obtained exclusively by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, informed the operators that the renewal fee for domestic (national) operations  is now N350,000.

NIPOST had increased their license renewal fees from N250,000 for nationwide operations to N750,000 while international operations is put at N3 million from N250,000, starting from January 2013.

Also, a new player is required to pay N3 million for a nationwide license up from N1 million while international operations will attract N10 million from previous N1 million.

In 2012, courier operators protested and urged NIPOST which is both regulator and operator to clear the ambiguity surrounding its existence. –

The protest forced NIPOST to slash the renewal fees to N500, 000 and new licence fee to N2 million for the local operators while the international remained same.

But the operators still asked for further review of the fees, citing harsh operating environment, multiple taxation, among other as inimical to their operations.  

Dr. Simon Emeje, head of Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) in Nipost, while signing the document on behalf of the PMG, notified the operators that the status quo remains as regards obtaining of new licence.  

“This is to inform you that NIPOST Management has reviewed and approved a new renewal tariff, considering your appeal.

“The effective date for the revised tariff is January 1, 2014. The minimum tariff and the coverage definitions earlier sent last year 2013 remains valid,” the document reads.

Reacting to the development, Mr. Siyanbola Oladapo, ANCO’s president, described the gesture as a win-win for both the operators and the society at large.

He said that convincing Nipost management to see reasons with the operators was challenging but rewarding. “It was challenging in the sense that nothing in Nigeria that goes up does come down. Secondly, when the tariff was reduced from N750,000 to N500,000, we protected and it seemed nothing will come out of that.

“But the new executives of ANCO do not believe in impossibilities, we pushed forward for further downward review. We made statistical presentation to the PMG on the state of the industry, who I want to appreciate for realizing that the earlier fees would lead to dearth of several domestic operators.

“There is not indigenous company that is free from the harsh operating environment. The big ones are really having the best of the market shares. We made it clear that allowing the local operators to die off spells doom for the society.

“So we accept the act of magnanimity from NIPOST with joy, hoping that other quest by the industry will actually be looked into in no distant time”.

He extolled CRD’s assistance, which was a prelude to the downward review.    

“With this now and as big achievement we are even more resolute in the pursuit of an Independent Commission for the industry,” Oladapo added.

NIPOST had instead that the old tariff regime was aimed at checking capital flight and restoring sanity in the industry.