N18bn personnel cost for NIPOST prompts Senate to move for its privatization

The Joint Senate Committee on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) has threatened to legislate for a fully privatized Nigeria Postal Service for optimal performances.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance who also chaired the MTEF-FSP joint panel, Senator Sani Musa, gave the indication when the Postmaster General of the Federation, Tola Odeyemi appeared before the joint panel to defend her agency’s 2024 budget proposal.

Odeyemi drew the ire of the senators when she mentioned that her agency projected N18bn as personnel cost for the NIPOST 16, 000 workers across the country.

An amazed Musa could not figure out why NIPOST whose activities are not visible in the country could increase its personnel cost from N13bn in 2023 to N18bn for 2024.

The Postmaster General’s explanation that the increment was due to the recent hike in personnel cost by Federal Government to federal workers could not change the minds of the Chairman and other members.

A member of the joint panel, Senator Ireti Kingibe attempted to defend the continued existence of NIPOST as a partially funded agency of the federal government claiming that every nation deserves their own vibrant postal agency.

She said, ” NIPOST should not be scrapped but should be turned to a revenue generating agency.

“The only thing is that the agency was stuck in the 19th Century analogue operation instead of migrating to digital service for efficient services.

“There is nothing stopping NIPOST to digitalise their offices across the country to offer electronic services for Nigerians, deliver government services at all local government areas and even engage in financial services.”

had hardly ended her submission when

Senator Osita Izunaso however disagreed with Kingibe arguing that the NIPOST as it is currently structured, should not be encouraged if the country was interested in generating revenues to fund its annual budgets.

Ruling on the matter, the Chairman of the joint panel asked the Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST to forward to the committee, details of her business plans to reposition the agency to a highly revenue generating one.

He said, “NIPOST should have been fully privatised before now because nobody is feeling their impact anywhere in the country.

“We are ready to recommend to the Senate in plenary, full privatisation of the NIPOST except the Postmaster General convinces us otherwise.

“The CEO of NIPOST should forward to the secretariat of our committee details of her business model on how the agency would be generating adequate revenues for the country through creative ideas.

“Failure to do this would leave the Senate with no other option than to recommend the full privatisation of NIPOST”