Postal Sector Policy Awaits FEC Approval- BPE

A policy targeting expansion and modernisation of the Nigerian postal system is ready and now awaiting the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), according to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).


The new policy framework which will not only recognise the dramatic changes in the information and communications technologies space but will also take Postal sector to a new height had earlier been approved by the National Council on Privatization (NCP).


Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is under the general guidance of the National Council on Privatization and charged with the overall responsibility of implementing the Nigerian policy on privatization and commercialization.


Ms. Bolanle Onagoruwa, director general, Bureau of Public Enterprises told the audience at the fourth annual Bowill Errands Limited public lecture and award ceremony in Lagos in Lagos that the reform of the postal sector has been undertaken in a number of countries, with a view to optimizing the use of the network and to strengthen the efficiency and quality of the services offered to the public.
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The DG who was represented by Alwell Ibeh, director, Information and Communication in the Bureau said that the economics of the restructuring process encompasses various components including policy review and formulation of sector policy; development  and adaptation  of a new legislative and regulatory framework and restructuring of Public Postal Operator (Nipost).


“These impact the three strategic assets on which the Postal Sector is usually built on: Infrastructure (essentially post offices), core postal services (collection and distribution of mail, parcels, and logistics aspects) and Postal Financial services,” she noted


Speaking on the imperatives of the postal reform, Onagoruwa maintained that postal sector is a critical part of every country’s information and communication infrastructure, “and its role is crucial in the ‘new economy’ driven by information and communication technologies. Declining mail volumes and increasing competition from private sector operators who have rendered core postal services financially unsustainable and this has inevitably led to the inclusion of postal financial services in the reform of the postal sector world-wide,” she added.


The DG stated that the Nigerian Postal Services with its vast nation-wide postal network of over 4,000 outlets can play a major role in critical areas of economic development.