The federal government plans to commercialize it Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) faced resistance from the union, which recognized the tactic of making the service extinct.
The National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) is supported by the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Enterprises and Government Owned Enterprises (SSASCGOC) in this stance.
In a joint statement on Friday, the union said the commercialization plan by the federal government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises is “tactically making NIPOST extinct under the guise of reform/commercialization.”
In June 2020, the government said it had started the process of unbundling NIPOST into three subsidiaries that would operate on the principle of commercial viability.
The Director General of BPE, Alex Okoh, announced that the reforms will not only improve NIPOST’s traditional services but also generate new revenue streams for the organization.
However, in a statement on Friday, the two unions said that “it is surprising that the intelligent plan of the BPE, the Federal Ministry of Communications and the Digital Economy (FMoCDE), the Federal Ministry of Finance and other independent individuals are involved in this process for the reap tactics of NIPOST assets and leave the Organization high and dry as against the promised growth and improvement.
“Therefore, every aspect of the proposed commercialization has been intelligently classified,” said a statement signed by Ayo Olorunfemi, secretary general of SSASCGOC.
The statement said that the two unions have engaged all the relevant authorities on the issues that interfere with this reform, especially the two subsidiary companies that were created (NIPOST Properties & Development Company Limited and NIPOST Transport & Logistics Services Limited).
“The Union has on several occasions presented its position, asserting that the reform process was carried out with fraud and irregularities but the BPE, FMoCDE, the NIPOST Board of Directors and the Postmaster-General/CEO have decided to pay lip service to the issue, instead, the Honorable Minister is directing the people concerned to initiate the take-off of these subsidiaries without recourse to our concerns,” the statement said.
It also raises concerns that the composition of the company’s Board of Directors clearly indicates that NIPOST as an entity has no influence or stake in its subsidiaries.
Another concern of the union is that “Part C of the object defined NIPOST Properties & Development Company Limited clearly states that the Company can Sell, rent or exchange NIPOST assets, a provision that empowers the company to sell NIPOST assets if they wish.”
He also said that the recruitment of the management staff of the company was done without considering the current management staff of NIPOST who have experience in this sector and the salary of the management staff of the company is greater than the salary of the top management of NIPOST, the difference is. which is alarming, Mr. Olorunfemi said in a statement.
“Based on the above concerns, the union concluded that” the said NIPOST reforms are an affront to the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the NIPOST Act.
He said the structure and process of the reform is in no way compatible with the reforms as seen in other sectors undergoing similar reforms, as this process is clearly an attempt to kill and bury the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). ) and throw our members into the labor market.
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“That NIPOST for the past 15 years has not received any capital funding from the Federal Government and instead of releasing funds to strengthen the critical national infrastructure of this government, funds are diverted to subsidiaries, which are managed and managed by some individuals for profit,” said the union, requested the government to postpone the takeover of the subsidiary and critically examine the above concerns with a view to addressing the anomaly.
PREMIUM TIMES has contacted the BPE for comment but the agency is yet to respond. Emails sent to the official BPE email went unanswered while the spokesperson, Joseph Anwoh, also did not respond to text messages.
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