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FG Carves Out 3 Firms from NIPOST, Plans Commission for Courier Industry
Federal Government has created three commercial ventures from the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) even as it said National Postal Commission (NPC) will be established soon to regulate the courier industry, including NIPOST.
The three new subsidiaries, which were carved out in the ongoing reform of the country’s main postal agency are: NIPOST Properties & Development Company; NIPOST Transport & Logistics Company and NIPOST Microfinance.
Mr. Alex A. Okoh, director general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), disclosed this in Abuja when he received some labour leaders in his office.
He said the BPE had completed the registration of NIPOST Properties & Development Company and NIPOST Transport & Logistics Company at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
The Director General added that the process for registration at CAC and also that of obtaining regulatory approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for NIPOST Microfinance bank had also commenced.
He said the on-going reform of the NIPOST would not attract job losses or retrenchment but would rather create more jobs in the new subsidiaries that will emerge after the reform.
Receiving the leadership of the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE), led by Rev. Nehemiah G. Buba, president, who paid him a courtesy visit, Okoh said NIPOST, after the reform, would still remain 100 percent entity of the federal government as the reform only aims at commercializing its services and making it robust to deliver more efficient postal services.
The Director General reiterated that the benefits of the reform of the sector include the provision of efficient postal services and utilisation of vast assets of NIPOST across the country; reduction in funding from the treasury in terms of subventions to NIPOST and the operation and growth of ancillary services and business to enhance the overall efficiency of NIPOST to create more jobs.
He said, in order to sensitize all the relevant stakeholders on the need for the reform, the Bureau in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Communication & Digital Economy and NIPOST held zonal workshops in five of the six geo-political zone of the country, except the North-Central Zone which was to be held in Abuja but for the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The Director General announced that the reform of the postal sector would lead to the emergence of Nigerian Postal Commission (NPC) as a regulator of the sector to ensure efficiency, service delivery and check abuses.
He said during a tour of some of the countries that have effectively reformed their postal services and are reaping good dividends, it was discovered that in China for instance, its Postal Bank has over 80 million customers because of its rural penetration.
He said given that most rural communities in Nigeria do not have access to banking facilities, the emergence of NIPOST Microfinance Bank would be beneficial to the communities.
On the request by the union leaders for the bureau to intervene in the impasse between NIPOST and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on which of the organisations is statutorily required to collect stamp duties in the country, Okoh assured them that the bureau was already interfacing in the matter and that soon, an amicable solution would be reached.
Buba, commended the federal government for initiating the reform which is now a reality.
He expressed delight over the visit as some of the issues pertaining to the reform, which were hitherto not known to the workers, have been laid bare by the bureau.
It would be recalled that the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), at its meeting held on 31st October, 2017, approved the reform of the Postal Sector and the restructuring and modernisation of the Nigeria Postal Services (NIPOST).
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have initiated discussions on strategies for capacity building in the maritime industry.
Dr. Dayo Mobereola, Director General of NIMASA, represented by the Executive Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Jibril Abba disclosed this during a visit by the management of the bank led by Executive Director of Large Enterprises, Mrs. Ifeoma Uz’Okpala.
Osagie Edward, the agency’s Head of Public Relations, said in a statement that in addition to safety, security and maritime labour, the agency’s mandate encompasses capacity development aimed at growing the sector.
Also, Mobereola explained that NIMASA’s commitment to collaboration was a vital tool for achieving its mandate.
He said: “The aim is to actualise the vision of the Federal Government to reposition the maritime sector, especially with the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.”
Also, Uz’Okpala affirmed the bank’s readiness to support NIMASA, emphasising the importance of collaboration in implementing a robust capacity-building initiative that would contribute to economic growth in Nigeria.
She noted: “Bank of Industry Limited is Nigeria’s oldest and largest Development Finance Institution (DFI) currently in operation. It is owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Nigeria (94.80 per cent), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (5.19 per cent) and private shareholders (0.01 per cent).
The federal government’s aggregate receipt of the Value Added Tax (VAT) in Q2 2024, stood at N1.56 trillion, indicating a growth rate of 9.11 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis from N1.43 trillion in Q1 2024.
The figure represents a 99.82 per cent increase compared to the N781.35 billion collected in the corresponding quarter of last year.
According to numbers released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS), On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the Q2 VAT rose by 9.11 per cent from N1.43 trillion in Q1 2024.
The data showed that local VAT payments recorded were N792.58 billion, foreign VAT payments stood at N395.74 billion, while import VAT contributed N372.95 billion in Q2 2024.
Analysis of the NBS numbers showed that human health and social work activities recorded the highest growth rate with 98.44 per cent, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing with 70.26 per cent, and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities with 59.75 per cent.
Contrarily, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use had the lowest growth rate with –46.84 per cent, followed by real estate activities with –42.59 per cent.
In terms of sectoral contributions, the top three largest shares in Q2 2024 were manufacturing with 11.78 per cent; information and communication with 9.02 per cent; and mining and quarrying with 8.79 per cent.
“Nevertheless, activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services-producing activities of households for own use recorded the least share with 0.00 percent, followed by activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies with 0.01 per cent; and water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities with and Real Estate Services 0.04 per cent each.
“However, on a year-on-year basis, VAT collections in Q2 2024 increased by 99.82 per cent from Q2 2023,” NBS stated.
Partners for the eighth annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) have begun to emerge with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Emadeb Group and Dangote Group leading the train of partners for the event slated for Thursday, October 3, 2024 at the Reverton Hotel, GRA Lokoja, Kogi State.
The chairman of the 2024 Conference Planning Committee, Danlami Nmodu, mni, also listed other partners to include Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Setraco Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), according to a statement by
GOCOP Publicity Secretary, Sir Remmy Nweke.
Nmodu was also quoted as saying that the eighth conference would center on the theme: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to Digital Economy” and will hold on Thursday, October 3, 2024 from 10am. The keynote will be delivered by former governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyle Imoke.
Read Also: Imoke, Buratai, Maida, others to headline GOCOP 2024 conference in Kogi
Additional partners for 2024, he said, comprised the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Access Bank plc, Zenith Bank plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Fidelity Bank plc, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc (STI), Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) and National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).
A major highlight of this year’s conference, Nmodu said, is a business luncheon with GOCOP partners on Wednesday, 2 October, at the same venue, while the conference itself would hold on Thursday, October 3.
Nmodu noted that the 8th edition would be chaired by former Nigeria’s Ambassador to Spain, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman, with the former Nigerian Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (Retd) and the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida as Guest Speakers, while a Professor of Political Science at the Federal University Lokoja, Prof. Rotimi Ajayi and an edutainment communicator and veteran broadcaster, Ms Debrah M. Ogazuma are panellists.
Nmodu recalled that GOCOP conference 2023 was chaired by the JAMB Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof Ishaq Olarenwaju Oloyede, while the first Nigerian Professor of Capital Market, Prof. Uchenna Joseph Uwaleke was the keynote speaker.
Previous speakers at the annual conference consisted of Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto who delivered the 2019 lecture on “Economy, Security and National Development: The Way Forward.”
In 2021, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, keynoted the Conference in his capacity as Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19. He spoke on: “Post Covid-19 Pandemic: Recovery and Reconstruction in Nigeria.”
In 2022, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, delivered the keynote entitled “2023 Elections: Managing the Process for Credible Outcome.”
GOCOP was established to ensure that online publishers uphold the tenets of journalism.
Membership of the Guild is a constellation of editors and senior journalists who, having distinguished themselves in their various positions in the print and electronic media, ventured into online publishing which is both the present and future of journalism globally.
The Guild has over 104 corporate publishers as members.
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