Minister seeks return of NIPOST to seaports
Jonah Iboma
The Minister of Communications, Dr. Obafemi Anibaba, on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of the Nigeria Postal Service at the nation’s seaports in Lagos.
Speaking during a tour of the facilities in Lagos, Anibaba directed that steps should immediately be taken by the organisation to redress the situation.
NIPOST, which once, had offices at the Apapa port, sold the facility in the course of the implementation of government’s port concessioning scheme. The organisation had been asked to come up with N140m but when it could not meet this condition, the place was sold.
Anibaba stated that despite the development, this should not make NIPOST absent from the ports and directed that both his ministry and that of transport be informed to resolve the matter.
He, therefore, directed the management of NIPOST to forward a letter seeking to buy back the place to his office and that of the Minister of Transport, saying the N140m demanded for its sale should not have been a barrier for retaining it.
He also expressed displeasure at the decadent state of General Post Office at Marina, Lagos, stating that the facility that used to be the headquarters of the Nigerian Postal Service needed complete rehabilitation.
The Post Master-General, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba, represented on the entourage by his Deputy, Territorial Administration, Mrs Agnes Okonye, said that the contract for the rehabilitation of the former head office was awarded in 2004 with 20 weeks completion time but noted that till date, the job was still far from being completed.
The minister also said that he was not impressed with the fact that most of the organisation’s operations there were done manually stating that the situation must change.
He also inspected other branches of NIPOST at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, where he gave a pass mark to the organisation for its work there.
The Minister of Communications, Dr. Obafemi Anibaba, on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of the Nigeria Postal Service at the nation’s seaports in Lagos.
Speaking during a tour of the facilities in Lagos, Anibaba directed that steps should immediately be taken by the organisation to redress the situation.
NIPOST, which once, had offices at the Apapa port, sold the facility in the course of the implementation of government’s port concessioning scheme. The organisation had been asked to come up with N140m but when it could not meet this condition, the place was sold.
Anibaba stated that despite the development, this should not make NIPOST absent from the ports and directed that both his ministry and that of transport be informed to resolve the matter.
He, therefore, directed the management of NIPOST to forward a letter seeking to buy back the place to his office and that of the Minister of Transport, saying the N140m demanded for its sale should not have been a barrier for retaining it.
He also expressed displeasure at the decadent state of General Post Office at Marina, Lagos, stating that the facility that used to be the headquarters of the Nigerian Postal Service needed complete rehabilitation.
The Post Master-General, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba, represented on the entourage by his Deputy, Territorial Administration, Mrs Agnes Okonye, said that the contract for the rehabilitation of the former head office was awarded in 2004 with 20 weeks completion time but noted that till date, the job was still far from being completed.
The minister also said that he was not impressed with the fact that most of the organisation’s operations there were done manually stating that the situation must change.
He also inspected other branches of NIPOST at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, where he gave a pass mark to the organisation for its work there.
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