Jan. 27, 2022

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has said it was impossible for any economy to be transformed without digitization.

The minister stated this on Thursday, at the launch of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) debit card, agency banking platform and Logistics vehicles, in Abuja.

The minister said a digitized economy would improve ease of doing business, improve transparency and fight corruption.

Pantami noted that the products would help NIPOST key into e- governance and a sustainable digital economy.

“The unveiled products will help NIPOST activities align with e-government and set ease of doing business in motion.

“Two of the products are digitized and a digitized economy improves transparency and fights corruption,’’ he said.

He also commended the NIPOST management and encouraged them to continue to put in the hard work of backing the FG’s digitization agenda.

Earlier, in his address of welcome, the Post Master General (PMG) NIPOST, Dr. Ismail Adewusi, stated that the occasion marked another opportunity to position the agency’s services according to best global standards.

Adewusi said that upon his assumption of office two years ago, he inherited seven zones and 108 districts, which were running on high operating costs.

“Upon my resumption two years ago, I met with the management and we made a serious appraisal of the post.

“The appraisal included, among others, tinkering with the operating structure and re-introducing states’ territorial management structure, under the direct supervision of coordinating directors.

“This is, however, all geared towards reducing operating costs, increasing the revenue base and rejuvenating the system, with a view to restoring public confidence,’’ he said.

The NIPOST boss said two subsidiary companies were created out of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in the past two years, namely, the NIPOST Property and Workshop Ltd and the Transport and Logistics Ltd.

“We equally created the Stamp Denotation and Authentication Department, following the amendment of the Finance Act, 2020, which restored the mandate of NIPOST to produce adhesive postage stamps for the purposes of authenticating duties or fees.’’

Twenty seven logistics’ vehicles were commissioned, in partnership with Speedaf Express, an international logistics company, expected to cater for e-commerce and speedy delivery of logistics all over the country.

The recently unveiled NIPOST debit card is geared towards reaching the unbanked population, residing in remote areas. The card relies heavily on biometric information of the user like finger print, which means it can work both online and offline.

The banking platform, which is POS (point of sale) based, is a multi-teller banking system and all products and services are in line with Universal postal services standards and are available in all NIPOST offices nationwide. (NAN)