Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has directed the Nigerian Postal Service to immediately suspend the implementation of new, increased charges for courier service operators.
NIPOST recently announced an upwards review of charges for courier and logistics services in the country.
The development attracted condemnation from Nigerians, as the new charges introduced by NIPOST were expected to lead to an increase in the cost of courier services and delivery goods.
Going by the reviewed charges introduced by NIPOST, international courier services operators such as DHL, UPS and FEDEX would pay N20m for a new licence and N8m renewal fee annually.
Also, companies which offer national services will pay N10m for licence and N4m yearly for renewal.
Courier and logistics companies that operate within regions will pay N5m for licence and N2m annually, while those that operate within states will pay N2m to procure licence, and N800, 000 annually for renewal.
But, in a tweet on Saturday morning, the minister, whose ministry supervises NIPOST, ordered a suspension of the new charges.
He noted that he did not approve the development.
”Please NIPOST, our attention has been drawn to an increase of licence fee, which was not part of the regulation I earlier approved for you.
“Your chairman and PMG (Postmaster-General) were yesterday contacted to put the implementation on hold and send a report to our ministry by Monday. Best wishes!”, the minister said in the tweet.
Noting that the new charges will lead to economic difficulties for Nigerians, he added, “The power of regulation of NIPOST lies with the minister. Any change of fee must be specific and approved by him before implementation.
“I know the economic challenges of NIPOST. However looking at the economic hardship of our citizens, we need to suspend any move. ”
