BAT appoints new CEOs for NCC, NIPOST, NIGCOMSAT - ITREALMS

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) has approved the appointment of some new and returning Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, reports ITREALMS.

Confirming this on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale said in a press statement available to ITREALMS that the new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is Mr. Aminu Maida, who replaces Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta with immediate effect.

Pantami to Nigerians: Insist on use of PoS @NIPOST - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has advised Nigerians to insist on the use of Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminals at any outlet of Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) office nationwide, especially if they are to make payments, reports ITREALMS.

The Minister through his spokesperson, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, said in a press statement available to ITREALMS, directed the Post-Master General of the Federation to henceforth revert to PoS in all NIPOST offices.

“The Post-Master General, is to ensure that all its offices revert to Point of Sales (PoS) and bank teller transactions immediately. The general public and all customers of NIPOST, are hereby encouraged to insist on Point of Sales (PoS) or bank teller transactions, when conducting business with NIPOST.

This directive, he said, is in line with the anti-corruption programme of President Muhammadu Buhari and the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, and ordered the Post-Master General (PMG) to suspend all existing cash payment plans within NIPOST entities nationwide.

“The Post-Master General, is to ensure that all its offices revert to Point of Sales (PoS) and bank teller transactions immediately. The general public and all customers of NIPOST, are hereby encouraged to insist on Point of Sales (PoS) or bank teller transactions, when conducting business with NIPOST.

“This directive is a temporary measure to tackle corruption, as we are currently working on fully automating the systems as a permanent solution to the challenge.

Further, Dr Pantami directed the Post-Master General to immediately implement strategies that will bring an end to unnecessary delays in its service delivery to customers.

“The current trend of delays in postal services will not be condoned by the office of the Honourable Minister under whose purview, the supervision of NIPOST falls.

“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy are committed to protecting the rights of all Nigerians and will not tolerate any act of corruption under its watch,” Pantami maintained.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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NIPOST: No more cash payments orders Pantami - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has ordered with immediate effect the stoppage of every cash payments in the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) office nationwide, reports ITREALMS.

This order, ITREALMS gathered, follows series of corrupt tendencies discovered by the Minister’s office at NIPOST, decrying that it has led to some unscrupulous elements, taking undue advantage of the cash payment system under NIPOST to engage in corrupt practices.

A press statement by the Minister’s spokesperson, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, noted that in line with the anti-corruption programme of President Muhammadu Buhari and the mandate of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the Post-Master General (PMG) has been ordered to forthwith, suspend all existing cash payment plans within its establishments countrywide.

Part of the statement read, “The Post-Master General, is to ensure that all its offices revert to Point of Sales (PoS) and bank teller transactions immediately. The general public and all customers of NIPOST, are hereby encouraged to insist on Point of Sales (PoS) or bank teller transactions, when conducting business with NIPOST.

“This directive is a temporary measure to tackle corruption, as we are currently working on fully automating the systems as a permanent solution to the challenge.

Further, Dr Pantami directed the Post-Master General to immediately implement strategies that will bring an end to unnecessary delays in its service delivery to customers.

“The current trend of delays in postal services will not be condoned by the office of the Honourable Minister under whose purview, the supervision of NIPOST falls.

“The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy are committed to protecting the rights of all Nigerians and will not tolerate any act of corruption under its watch,” Pantami insists.

Chuks Egbuna/DoP

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NIPOST inducted into ‘FOI Hall of Shame’ - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has been inducted into the “Freedom of Information (FOI) Hall of Shame” by the Media Rights Agenda (MRA), reports ITREALMS.

This induction, MRA said, is for the institution’s failure to comply with its duties and obligations under the FOI Act, thereby violating the public’s right of access to information.

Also, MRA said in a statement in Lagos made available to ITREALMS that NIPOST was in breach of several provisions of the FOI Act, including failing to designate an appropriate official to receive requests for information from members of the public; and failing to publish the title and contact details of such an official as required by the Act and the Implementation Guidelines issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation.

MRA also accused NIPOST of disregarding its statutory obligation to submit annual reports on its implementation of the Act to the Attorney-General of the Federation; failing to proactively publish the categories of information which it is required to publish by the Act, failing to provide appropriate training for its officials on the public’s right of access to information, among others.

NIPOST was established by Act No. 18 of 1987 to provide and operate facilities for the collection, dispatch and distribution of inland and overseas mail at reasonable cost;  provide and operate facilities for remittance of money through the money or postal order systems; provide and operate philatelic services in Nigeria; print and provide postage stamps for payment of postage tariff and payment of stamp duties and to represent Nigeria in its relations with other postal administrations and other bodies concerned with postal services.

Sadly, MRA said, despite these very critical information and communication services which the institution is mandated to provide to Nigerians and other members of the public, NIPOST has chosen to conduct its business in secrecy and has consistently violated the provisions of the FOI Act since its enactment in 2011.

Mr. John Gbadamosi, MRA’s Programme Officer, said in the statement: “NIPOST, which used to be a department in the Ministry of Communications, should ordinarily constitute a critical pillar in the effective implementation of the FOI Act and stands to benefit from the existence of the Act if it is able to overcome its institutional shortsightedness, the historical incompetence that has dogged its activities and operations for decades and if its management has the resourcefulness to tailor its services to take advantage of a huge opportunity at the disposal of an institution hurtling into extinction as a result of its increasing irrelevance to the society it was established to serve.”

He noted that in addition to complying with the provisions of the FOI Act, as it is obliged to do under the Law, it is also in the enlightened self-interest of NIPOST to promote the Act and its implementation by other public institutions which would result in additional resources for it.

According to Mr. Gbadamosi, “the services that NIPOST was established to provide make it ideally suited to convey applications for information from members of the public all over the country to public institutions in different parts of Nigeria and similarly serve as the vehicle through which public institutions can deliver their responses to such requesters for information at affordable rates that would make it a preferred option for those who currently have to deliver such applications and responses either by courier or through hand deliveries and dispatches.”

Besides, he said, “the money and postal order systems, which are now virtually moribund, could also be easily revived and could become the most viable instruments for members of the public seeking to make payments to public institutions for requested information, which would provide NIPOST with desperately need revenue streams.”

Mr. Gbadamosi noted that although NIPOST claims to have eliminated the incidence of mail theft, pilfering, tampering and other forms of fraudulent activities as a way of boosting customers' confidence, there remains a lack of transparency and accountability in the provision of its service to the public, which have largely remained inefficient.”

He accused NIPOST  of non-compliance with its obligation under the Law to proactively publish 16 categories of information that it is required to publish by Section 2(3) and (4) of the Act, saying “additionally, there is no indication whatsoever that the institution has designated an official to whom requests  for information should be sent while it has also not proactively published the title and address of such an official as the information is not even available on its website.”

Mr. Gbadamosi also pointed out the institution’s failure to comply with its obligation under Section 29 of the Act, which mandates NIPOST, like other public institutions covered by the Act, to submit to the Attorney-General of the Federation, on or before February 1 of each year, a report covering the preceding fiscal year of its implementation of the Act.

He said there was no indication that the NIPOST has provided the appropriate training for its officials on the public’s right of access to information or records held by the Bureau or trained them to effectively implement the Act, as it is required to do by section 13 of the FOI Act.

Mr. Gbadamosi called on the management of the Service to redeem the institution’s image by ensuring that it complies with its duties and obligations under the FOI Act.

MRA launched the “FOI Hall of Shame” on July 3, 2017 to draw attention to public officials and institutions that are undermining the effectiveness of the FOI Act through their actions, inactions, utterances and decisions.

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National Assembly urged to pass NIPOST Reform Bill

ITRealms:

The Minister of Communications, Barrister Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu has urged the National Assembly to expedite action in deliberating and subsequently passing the Postal Reform Bill and other related bills pending before the legislators aiming at restructuring the nation’s postal flagship, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), reports ITRealms.

Barr. Shittu made this call while launching two documents, namely, the “Restructuring and Modernising Nigerian Postal Service and NIPOST Vision 2020” as well as inaugurating a steering committee for NIPOST reformation in his office Monday.

He said the present administration need the collaboration and synergy of the National Assembly to deliver on its campaign promises to Nigerians by expediting actions on bills targeted at social reformation of the Nigerian society, one of which is the services provided by NIPOST.

The minister charged the law makers upon resumption from their current recess to give the bill serious attention, saying, “we will appreciate that the bill is considered expeditiously important to the socio-economic policy thrust of the Muhammadu Buhari administration”.

He stated further that the Bill seek the amendment of all the existing postal services laws to give effect to the recommendations of the NethPost Consultancy of The Netherlands and all other interest groups that worked with the Ministry, NIPOST and other stakeholders in the postal services.

 According to him, though NIPOST reformation was not part of the APC campaign promises, but he initiated moves to reposition NIPOST, one of the oldest public institutions to be widely accepted in terms of efficient and effective postal services delivery, to be socially relevant, economically viable and internationally acceptable.

Objectives of the Postal Sector Reform Plan, he said, is premised on; establishing a low cost universal postal service that provides a solid communication medium and link nationwide; providing a safe and efficient postal service that is sustainable and keep space with developments in the rest of the world; introducing private sector participation and the development of the postal service into a commercially viable entrepreneurial conglomerate and creating a convenient means of savings mobilization and payment/ funds transfer system for the entire country through the postal network.

To operate on a commercial driven orientation, Shittu said the reform will unbundle NPOST to profit –driven subsidiaries such as; NIPOST Digital Financial Services Limited (PostBank); NIPOST Property &Development Company Limited; NIPOST Transport and Logistics Limited; NIPOST Merchandizing Limited (e-Commerce); and NIPOST General Services Support Limited (e-Government).

The Post Master General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Barr. Bisi Adegbuyi in his remark commended the present administration for its determination to drive the reformation process to a logical conclusion and particularly Barr. Shittu for his concerted efforts to change the trajectory of NIPOST, adding that the management of NIPOST has in the interim took a step at tinkering with reformation through certain restructuring steps taken so far.

“It is in this spirit, therefore, that the new management of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) crafted this four- year strategic plan (NIPOST Vision 2020, from 2017 -2020) to guide the implementation. In considering the contents of the various documents, however, it is obvious that there are programmes that can be implemented in the short term in accordance with government policy, while others can only be implemented in the long-run after the passage of the Postal Sector Reform Bill into law”, he said.

After launching the two documents, the minister inaugurated a steering committee that will lay the foundation for the reformation process with the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Arc Sonny Echono as chairman, the Post Mast General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Barr. Bisi Adegbuyi as vice-chairman and the Special Adviser, Digital Resources, to the Minister, Mr.Akeem Yusuf as secretary. Others include, two members each from the ministry (Directors of ICT and Telecoms & Postal Services) and NIPOST; one representative each from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bureau of Public Enterprises and Special Assistant, NPOST, to the Honorable Minister.

The committee chairman, Arc. Echono promised that members of the committee will give the assignment all necessary attention and seriousness it deserves and deliver on the mandate of its task in due time.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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NIPOST adopts 3 word addressing system

ITRealms:

The Nigeria’s postal services (NIPOST), has adopted the innovative global addressing system known as what3words to improve delivery services, reports ITRealms.

Nigeria, ITRealms reports, is the seventh country to adopt what3words and the third in Africa.

The system, ITRealms gathered, is already being used for mail deliveries in Mongolia, Sint Maarten, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Tonga and Solomon Islands, hence its anticipated that Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy and most populous country with approximately 184 million inhabitants, has the seventh largest population in the world.

ITRealms reports that Nigeria’s poor addressing system means that only 20 per cent of its inhabitants receive mail at home. While 79 per cent of homes and businesses cannot receive deliveries to the door, and the remaining 1 per cent receive their mail using one of the 478,000 P.O. boxes throughout the country.

In addition, ITRealms also gathered that a postcode system is not optimised with only 5 per cent of mail gets properly addressed with the postcode, hampering the efforts of NIPOST to improve quality of service.

Nigeria’s Postmaster General, Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi, said they are very pleased to be collaborating with what3words as an addressing solution with huge potential to unlock opportunities.

“Better addressing is a key to NIPOST’s agenda, which aims to transform, innovate, and deliver more services to more people all over the country” Adegbuyi said.

Chris Sheldrick, CEO and Co-founder of what3words said that with a rapidly growing ecommerce ecosystem, Nigeria is a very exciting country to be working with.

“Postal services have a critical role in building a strong economy and NIPOST are firmly focused on the future, and are taking steps to modernise and grow their capacity and range of services,” he said.

ITRealms  recollects that what3words, is an innovative global addressing system which divided the world in 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares; each with a unique 3 word address, that are easy to remember, and to share via email, text or over the phone.

Sheldrick emphasised that the addresses are pre-assigned, using an algorithm and each 3 word address refers to a precise 3m x 3m square somewhere in the world.

The what3words Application Programming Interface (API), he said, is being integrated by business, apps and services across the world in a wide variety of sectors.

“It is also used by individuals via the free what3words app. The system is currently available in 14 languages, with many more in development, and it is also optimised for voice recognition,” he said.

On the other hand, NIPOST is the designated postal operator for Nigeria with 10,093 employees, spread among 2,795 post offices throughout the country and handles around 10 billion mail items a year.

NIPOST is currently working to modernise and streamline its operations and has plans to diversify profitably into financial services, e-commerce and logistics, insurance, shipping and property, to provide quality postal services that satisfy the aspirations of all stakeholders.

Uboshe Uboshe & Doris Minimah/GEE 

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Barrister Bisi Adegbuyi, Nigeria’s Postmaster General with What3words CEO and co-founder Chris Sheldric

Mercury track, trace system to ensure visibility of parcels

 ITRealms

 

Konga.com, Nigeria’s largest online mall, has said the newly unveiled Mercury, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics management system will enable logistics, courier companies and their customers to track the exact location and status of their orders online, ITRealms reports.

The Director, Distribution  and Fulfilment  of the company, Wale Adisa,  disclosed that Mercury will employ basic hardware requirements of computers, printers, handheld scanners and will enable businesses to migrate from having to capture data manually, to a fully automated process guaranteeing better data fidelity.  According to him, the launch of Mercury is in line with konga’s mission to be “the engine of trade and commerce in Africa,” as it will facilitate the growth of logistics business in the country.

“Mercury’s robust track and trace system will allow for the full visibility of parcels and make for increased customer satisfaction, whilst facilitating automated cash reconciliation and reduced operational costs. With Mercury, these logistics businesses will have fewer issues to contend with,” he said.

He went further to say that Mercury is available free of charge with no conditions, constraints or limitations; he however mentioned that interested logistics companies must be NIPOST approved, adding that  interested companies should visit www.mercury.ng/ for more information on how to sign up for Mercury, ITRealms learnt.

The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Sim Shagaya, who made the announcement recently, revealed that Mercury was created by Konga’s Technology and K-Express teams. He said that Mercury evolved from Konga’s previous ‘Kollect’ Track and Trace’ logistics and transportation platform.   

“There are many small and large logistics companies today serving sellers on the Konga marketplace. Beyond this, there are hundreds of logistics companies that are licensed by NIPOST to do parcel delivery across Nigeria. As we engaged with them, we found that one consistent complaint these companies have, is an absence of a robust track and trace system. We decided to extend the proprietary technology we had built for KExpress and make it broadly available to all logistics companies - large or small - that need it, ” he concluded.

Cyriacus Nnaji

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NIPOST intercepts N13.65bn fake financial instruments

ITRealms:

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has confirmed the interception of fake financial instruments worth N13.65billions in the first nine months of 2014 by its operatives, ITRealms  reports.

This is as the organisation says that United States of America and Britain were the major destinations for counterfeit mails, stressing officials of the two countries were cooperating with NIPOST to control transmission of counterfeit mails.

The Postmaster General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Baba, who disclosed this recently while briefing newsmen in a ceremony to mark the 2014 World Post Day, said between January and September 159 scam letters containing counterfeit financial instruments and other prohibited items were intercepted.

Giving insight into the seizure, the NIPOST boss noted that of the counterfeit financial instruments seized by NIPOST to include 17 mails worth N149,891,400 were intercepted in January; 66 worth N8,439,690 in February; 18 worth N159,654,963 in March; and 26 worth N118,329,017.36 in May.

Others, Baba listed include 32 mails worth N11,481,408,130.40 in June; four worth N672,632,019 in July; four worth N229,240,200.16 in August; and two worth N757,525,422.16 in the month of September.

Chukwudi Obi

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ISPON, NIPOST, ISOC drum support for Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable'12

The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) have joined other stakeholders’ organization to drum support for the 2012 Nigeria Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6) Roundtable, which holds in Lagos, Wednesday, June 6 as part of commemoration of the World IPv6 Day.

Also, the Internet Society (ISOC) Nigeria chapter is not leaving any stone unturned in ensuring that the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable 2012 has a resounding success, with its partnership for the conference.

The Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, the organizers of the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, confirmed this at the weekend, saying that President, ISOC Nigeria chapter, Chief Giandomenico Massari would lead ISOC members in South West to the roundtable.

A press statement made available to newsmen, she quoted ISPON president, Chief Chris Uwaje as saying that his group is supporting the 2012 Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable due to its expected value to enlightening Nigerians on this latest version of Internet protocol.

He also assured that ISPON’s delegate would be in full attendance not only to listen to how this could affect the software development industry in Nigeria, but also to contribute in the sharing of information.

Also speaking, Head, Public Relations at the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), Mr. Taiye Olaniyi, confirmed the Post-Master General (PMG), Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba would be in attendance to share the value proposition of the Postal industry in Nigeria in relation to IPv6 deployment, entitled “NIPOST Transformation and IPv6” as subtheme for the event holding at Welcome Centre and Hotels, Lagos.

She noted that Omatek Computers is equally supporting the event and would be displaying Made in Nigeria computers that are compliant to IPv6 requirements of Nigerians.

Mrs. Nweke recalled that the president of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Prof. Raymond Akwule would preside the 2012 Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable scheduled to hold in Lagos on June 6.

The Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, the organizers of Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable, disclosed this in Lagos, saying that Prof. Akwule would be supported by industry heavy-weights during the commemoration of World Internet Protocol version 6 day.

Akwule, she said, is a telecommunications professor of international repute and urged industry players to take advantage of the event to address and share preparations at their ends on migration to IPv6 in the country.

She noted that participants are bound to benefit from the wealth of experience of Prof.  Akwule, who currently is the President of DBI, an international centre for advanced communications studies.

Mrs. Nweke also noted that with over 25 years of teaching, research, and project planning and implementation experience in the fields of telecommunications and Information Technology as well as Mass Communications and Media Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia USA, Prof. Akwule would enrich the day with his enlightened exposure among others.

Remmy Nweke

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Influx of electronic products force NIPOST to diversify

The explosive growth of the communications market has forced many postal administrations to move beyond the core, physical mail business says the Post Master General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba.

Speaking at the 5^th ITEdge West Africa Convergence forum in Lagos, last weekend, while dwelling on ‘The Impact of ICT on Postal Operations and the Future of the Postal Sector’ he said that postal administrations globally have realized they have to fight for the postal business.

“… Not only with competitors for physical mail, but also, with the providers of new electronic communications products that have no national borders,” he declared.

He pointed out that they are now diversifying in order to broaden the range of services offered to customers.

“Today, we have a number of hybrid postal products which combine electronics with hard copy delivery,” he said, noting that for the Postal sector in a number of countries, technology has been used as a generator of growth for physical mail.

Adapting technology to postal operations, he said, has made it easy for them to provide e-based services as well as track and trace for parcels and registered mail items.

Mori Baba further said that they have used transportation technology to deliver mail faster to customers, adding that they have used technology for improvements of their infrastructure, from postal counters to automation of the postal processing chains.

To this extent, he said that the future of the postal sector remains bright despite the fact that many people are still wondering what the future holds for the Postal sector given the intense competition in the market.

“I dare say that the future is very bright,” he asserted.

He emphasised that the digital era no doubt presents enormous challenges and opportunities for the postal sector and the good thing is that the postal sector in many countries are partnering with the private sector, governments and corporate bodies to move the sector to the next level.

He said that radically changing customer behaviour driven by digital solutions and the ever spiraling use of the internet are revolutionizing the way in which businesses, governments and citizens interact.

“The implications of these changes are several, and include, for example, an imperative for Postal sector not only to secure the traditional mail business but also to quickly master the digital world (of 1.75billion internet users and the 1 billion mobile broadband users) and seize the emerging opportunities,” he observed.

The signs, he said, are positive as wave of innovative products and practices are emerging; many examples of diversification away from dependence on the mail already exist.

He said that as broadband penetration increases and the efficiency of electronic formats is recognized by both the Postal sector and customers, the time has come for Postal operators to use their initiative to create products that will bridge the divide between digital and physical.

According to him, the Post office is present almost everywhere-even in the remotest corners of many countries and serves as a key point of access to the outside world, especially for billions of people who are yet to have access to the Internet.

Its doors are open to all, without discrimination, making it a fundamental phenomenon, a force for integration.  Today, the Post office is so much more than the place you go to send or receive a letter or parcel; it is also a hub for electronic and financial services.

“Access to new information and communication technologies also means the ability to send a confidential electronic message securely and provides a means of receiving parcels containing goods ordered over the Internet,” he submitted.

Remmy Nweke
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