Luck may smile the way of Nipost ex-workers as Mori Baba, the postmaster general of the federation gave renewed hope for the payment of the severance benefits of Nipost staff laid off during the federal government’s down sizing and right sizing exercise. Mori Baba gave the hint last week at the 2008 World Post Day celebration in Abuja when he said that arrangement had been concluded by the Bureau of Public Service Reform to pay those affected by the exercise. He said that payment of cheques to the beneficiaries would commence this week and would be handled by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
Speaking on this year’s World Post Day celebration which he described as very significant, as the event marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) having been founded in 1946, Mori Baba emphasized that the UPU as a specialized agency of the United Nations has contributed in meaningful ways in facilitating development, poverty reduction, promotion of healthcare services, environmental protection, bridging of the digital divide and sustainable development.
"It is therefore no gainsaying the fact that the post has come a long way as a veritable vehicle for the delivery of development to the inhabitants of the planet earth. In the world business environment that is characterized by stiff competition, globalization, market liberalization and rapid growth of new technologies, the post has been able to make its mark in the sands of time. From the sending and receiving of letters and parcels, to the transactions in financial instruments, the post has been able to touch the lives of all categories of people all over the world. This is indeed worthy of celebration", he said.
Mori Baba reiterated that the priority of Nigerian Postal Service (Nipost) in the next two or three years would be to strengthen the postal house to ensure the provision of universal service, improve on quality of service delivery, modernize operations through computerization and introduce an acceptable addressing system that will facilitate efficient mail delivery and sustainable development which he said were in line with Nairobi Postal Strategy adopted at the 24th congress of the Universal Postal Union which held in Geneva , Switzerland between July and August this year. Kenya was to host the event but for political trouble that erupted in the country necessitating the shift to Geneva.
On Nipost ICT centres, Baba recalled that the organization saw the need to introduce ICT in all aspects of services to enable the administration enjoy benefits of e-solutions and had gone ahead to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Galaxy Backbone Plc, to provide internet services using VSAT to 1,500 post offices in the country. He said that deployment of facilities to more than 100 sites in the project had been concluded.
In line with the recommendations and resolutions of the world postal body towards repositioning the post for greater contribution to socio-economic development, Mori Baba said his administration saw the need to embark on a reform in collaboration with Bureau of Public Enterprises aimed at achieving efficient service delivery for the organization. To beef up operations and marketing aspects of their business towards actualizing the present aspiration of Nipost , he intimated that the organization had acquired within the last one year 30 mail delivery vans which include 250 motor- cycles and 100 bicycles, and also purchased 16 Peugeot 206 and 307 cars through funds generated internally .
Further in his address, Mori Baba said that in the effort of the organization to restore public confidence in Nipost’s services, the postal body had embarked on extensive repair of postal facilities in the six geo-political zones of the country and even stepping up necessary infrastructure even as he informed that the body had also embarked on massive training of its workforce to be able to deliver world class professional services to its teeming customers.