Postal bill: Will reposition industry, NIPOST assures Nigerians

The Nigerian Postal Service(NIPOST), said the newly passed Postal Bill will revolutionalise the postal ecosystem and bring postal industry in line with international best practises.

This was contained in a statement signed by NIPOST’s General Manager Corporate Communications, Mr Franklin Alao on Thursday.

Alao, said that the Bill is not an amendment as was wrongly presented in some media reports; explaining that a section of the media portrayed the new Bill as an amendment.

“It is a new Bill which replaces the repealed NIPOST Act, Cap. N127, LFN 2004. The bill designates Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) as a public postal operator, principally establishes Nigerian Postal Commission as the regulator of the country’s postal industry,” Alao further explained.

He said provisions of the new bill relating to denotation of document instruments have nothing to do with dutiable items under the Stamp Duties Act.

He noted that, “The report quoting Clause 13 (1) failed to proceed to clause 13(2) of the that limits NIPOST to “transactions that are not dutiable or not subject to duty.”

He explained further that NIPOST’s power under Stamp Duties Act as amended by Section 46 of the 2020 Finance Act remains.

Mr Franklin stated that, “The new bill passed in line with international best practices by separating NIPOST as an operator from being at the same time, a regulator. The regulatory power of the entire postal industry has been vested in the newly created Nigerian Postal Commission.”

He added that the new bill would also afford NIPOST the power to provide  other services such as financial services, establish or incorporate subsidiaries or affiliated companies.