Bureau of Public Enterprises begins privatisation of Nipost
Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has embarked on a study leading to the eventual privatisation of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST).
However, the agency has fixed June 2008 date for the sale of the NIPOST, it has not come up with the privatisation option to be adopted in the transaction.
At a one-day stakeholders’ forum on the postal sector reform weekend in Abuja, director-general of BPE, Mrs Irene Chigbue said at the end of the workshop, BPE would determine whether to adopt privatisation, commercialisation or concession for the sale of the organisation.
Mrs Chigbue represented by the director of communication and capital market, Mr Benjamin Dikki, she stated that the workshop was to enable the stakeholders to make their input on the best reform option that would benefit all Nigerians.
The BPE boss noted that the workshop was a follow up to the work of the consultants, NethPost consultancy of Netherlands, employed by BPE to work on the broad-spectrum reform for the postal service.
She observed that in the past, the nation’s postal service was unable to carry out its core functions.
Chigbue disclosed that since 2000, NIPOST has remarkable improvement in line with the general development in Nigeria, but pointed out that the Nigerian postal service need to be restructured to make it efficient.
“The reform of the government, coming at this time, can only add impetus to existing efforts at ushering in a competitive and liberalised postal sector with an independent regulator capable of overcoming and regulating development in the emerging postal market”, Chigbue said.
Minister of information and communication, Mr Frank Nweke in his opening address said the work done by BPE and the ministry need to be critically reviewed by stakeholders who would be given the opportunity to voice their concerns which would be adequately addressed.
According to him, “By the end of the day, we expect an increase public awareness of the potentials of the postal sector and the possibilities for future investment”, the minister stated.
Nweke who was represented at the occasion by Ahlahi Shehu Ozigizi believed that by the end of the exercise there would be an increased public awareness of the potentials of the postal sector and the possibilities for future investment.
Also speaking, the postmaster-general of the federation, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba said the postal service has faced competition for a very long time.
The postmaster general said that the purpose of regulation is to create an enabling environment that will promote market efficiency through fair competition and practices within a statutory framework covering the entire postal market.
He noted that postal reforms in Nigeria would address the issue of ensuring universal access to postal service, finding the right balance between universal coverage and competition.
He also stressed that the reform in the postal administration would promote new service development, strengthening the role of the postal sector as a instrument of economic and social development ensure self sustaining universal postal service.
Other benefits of the reform according to the NIPOST boss include restructuring the postal sector for international integration, strengthening the regulatory instrument of the sector and promoting job creation.
