By 
Protests on social media against the increase in license fees by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) with likely negative economic impacts on businesses and citizens are part of the reasons why the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami on Saturday ordered the postal agency to suspend the decision.
More importantly, the minister felt ambushed. He was peeved by the unauthorized increase, a ministry source revealed,
Pantami, whose ministry supervises NIPOST, and who had earlier in the week, approved new guidelines to enhance the operations of courier and logistics services in Nigeria including the regulatory powers of NIPOST, appeared taken unawares by the hiked fees.
Worried over the negative impact on the original intent of the newly approved regulations, the minister ordered a reversal of the decision in a tweet on Saturday. “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!”
He would further tweet: “The power of regulation of NIPOST lies with the Minister, any change of fees must be approved by him. I know the economic challenges of NIPOST. However, looking at the economic hardship of our citizens, we need to suspend any move”.
Pantami ,who has also been at the forefront of the battle to reduce the price of data to citizens, has one of the most engaging Tweeter handles by any Nigerian public official with which he frequently interacts with citizens on industry issues.
Part of objectives of the reworked regulations: Courier and Logistics Operations 2020” is to empower SMEs; encourage them to officially seek license to operate in way that protect all stakeholders in the industry.
“It is obvious that NIPOST has no grasp of the situation or how this action can kill off small time operators who have helped to address logistics challenges and sustain the ecommerce sector,” said one angry official of a small logistics and transport company in Abuja.
The new irksome licensing fees
Under the now suspended NIPOST increased fees for courier and logistics companies, international operators such as DHL, UPS and FEDEX are to pay N20m for a new licence and N8m annually for renewal. National courier services are to pay N10m for licence and N4m yearly renewal. Regional operators s are to pay N5m for licence and N2m as annual renewal fees. Logistics and courier firms operating within municipalities are to pay N1m for licence and N400,000 for yearly renewal fees while Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with not more than five delivery vehicles, are obligated to pay N250,000 for licence and N100,000 to renew the licence every new operating year. The annual renewals fees represented about 40% increase across board.
Once made public, Nigerians protested massively across social media. Coming at a time when many businesses are either in comatose or grappling to stay afloat, “the action was both insensitive and a derision of government’s own policy to inspire businesses particularly SMEs to struggle through the COVID-19 economic woes,” said one online post among several others using the hashtag: #SayNoToNipostFee.
NIPOST as operator a regulator
The uproar against NIPOST hiked fees has also raised the unending debate of the unwholesomeness of allowing the postal agency to be both an operator and a regulator.
“What we need to do, through the honourable minister, is to even the playing field. NIPOST should not be responsible for licensing courier companies. It is akin to MTN licensing telecom companies. We need to move that function to a department in the Communications and Digital Economy Ministry,” former president of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Reverend Sunday Folayan, posted at the weekend.
The Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (ANCO) has consistently argued for an independent courier commission that would take over the powers of NIPOST as the industry’s ombudsman.
Many have also demanded that the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD), an arm of NIPOST that regulates activities of private logistics and courier companies should be moved to the supervising ministry that has purview over NIPOST and the entire industry.
“This is the right thing to do,” said one operator in Lagos. “The government has created a slothful monster that does not task itself with creativity or activity to be relevant. It only needs Draconian laws to ‘leech’ on other operators it is supposed to compete with,” the operator added.
