Nigerian delivery companies renew calls for regulatory body

Independent courier companies in Nigeria are hoping that the long-delayed Postal and Courier Services Regulation Bill may finally be passed into law by the National Assembly. The Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) maintains that the Courier Regulatory Department arm of Nigeria Postal Service “does not have the necessary executive and legislative powers to regulate, transform and protect the postal sector” – and that there is a need to set up an independent body along similar lines to the Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission (PCSRC) in Ghana.

As the ANCO concedes, the independent couriers have been calling for such a bill since 2004 and very little progress has been made. However, ANCO General Secretary Okey Uba told PostandParcel today (28 April) that an executive sponsored bill was recently sent to the present sitting of the National Assembly and there are hopes that the bill could be passed this time.

Uba said that 60 independent Nigerian courier companies are members of ANCO, although the membership area of the association’s website currently only lists the names of two companies.

Uba and other ANCO members participated in a three-day working visit to Ghana earlier this month, which included a meeting with the PCSRC.