The Ministry of Communications says it has no plans to sell NIPOST to any foreign interest for now. The clarification comes following speculations that the Nigeria postal company was up for sale to an unidentified foreign company.
“Ordinarily, we would have ignored the innuendoes, as there is no iota of truth in the said story, except for the likelihood of Nigerians being misled on our genuine intentions to reposition and revitalise NIPOST,” Victor Oluwadamilare, special assistant on media to the minister, noted in a signed letter to newsmen.
“In putting the records straight, the government of the day has no plan whatsoever to either privatise NIPOST or hand it over to foreigners to manage. This could only happen in the imagination of those who orchestrated the rumour to achieve only their inordinate mischief,” Oluwadamilare said.
“Our vision of the new NIPOST is a total transformation from being a mono-product service organisation to a one-stop multi-product service provider, with the ultimate aim of making it a cash-spinning establishment that can make meaningful contribution to the country’s revenue base,” Adebayo Shittu, minister of communication had said at different fora.
Such transformation is said to entail diversification of services, which will include rendering robust and all-inclusive financial services, utilising post offices across the country for rural telephony services, commercialising NIPOST’s fleet of vehicles, running a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and expansion of the stamp duties processes, among others.
“Shittu, an avowed nationalist, is a patriotic Nigerian who is wholly committed to the sustenance of our national institutions and legacies, who will never join the league of those hell-bent in selling off our common heritage,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, Shittu in his determination to succeed and deliver on all his promises has streamlined the appointments of his aides.
They are Abdullah Adeyanju Binuyo, special assistant (technical); David A. Awotunde, special assistant (admin); Victor Oluwadamilare, special assistant (media), and Razak Bayo Olubodun, personal assistant.
According to the statement, this development, which is with immediate effect, is in line with the Federal Government guidelines on the appointment of aides by ministers.
