FG approves100 new vehicles for NIPOST to enhance postal services nationwide

THE Federal Government has approved the purchase of over 100 new vehicles for the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) from Brazil to enhance its letter and other materials posting to various destinations across the country.

Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, who made this known at the weekend, during an interview with newsmen in Abuja, said the Federal Government through the agency would soon commence rural banking so that people in the rural communities, where there were no banks could make use of post office facilities available in their respective localities, in order to have financial inclusiveness.

He added that efforts have reached the climax to transform NIPOST from just posting letters into a digital hub, thereby, generating more funds into government coffers.

Barrister Shittu explained further that the government was also planning to establish NIPOST Transport and Logistics Services and NIPOST Property and Development Company, as a way of creating employment opportunities for the teeming Nigerians and generate more revenue for the government, promising that all lofty programmes of government under his supervision would be fully implemented in 2017.

According to him, “NIPOST has been known as one area of just posting letters and others.  In this year, we will be able to transform NIPOST into a digital hub. Hub in the sense that it will be transformed from just a letter writing and letter posting establishment to one establishment which will also involve a form of rural banking, so that people in rural areas, where there are no banks but where there are post office facilities will be able to have financial inclusiveness in the country.

“With the transport service we are introducing, already there are existing transport facilities and since I came on board, I’ve also approved the purchase of more than 100 new vehicles from Brazil for NIPOST, instead of using all of this to carry postal materials, we will make money out of it additionally and possibly carrying passengers from one location to another, so that money will be coming in.”

“Again, we are looking at establishing NIPOST Property and Development Services. By this, it means that the NIPOST facilities across the country would be made available to private developers for development into office complexes, shopping malls, market stores and even into residential apartment which will be done through Public Private Partnership (PPP) bases, and this will be bringing a lot of money for the government”, he added.