NIPOST to provide e-commerce, e-government services – Minister

NIPOST

The Federal Government said on Monday that the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) would be repositioned to provide e-commerce and e-government services in 2017.

The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, made this known when he featured at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja.

Shittu said the e-commerce and e-government services would be in addition to its mandate of letter and parcel distribution.

He said it was popular knowledge that ICT was the way to go for all economies today, whether an economy under recession, under slow growth or a fast growing one.

“ICT assists in making life better, it enables businesses to be run more efficiently and even enables governments to be run properly and more beneficially to the citizenry.

“That is why NIPOST wants to leverage on it to expand its scope of service delivery by engaging in e-commerce.

“Today in Nigeria and throughout the world, individuals have set up companies for purpose of e-commerce, NIPOST has better reputation and better logistic facilities to provide this e-commerce services.

“If you are in Abuja and you want to buy something in Kano, you simply go to a NIPOST facility, pay there and then the money is transmitted to the seller anywhere they are.

“NIPOST will assist in bringing those goods you have purchased to your doorstep. This will happen through NIPOST e-commerce services,’’ he said.

The minister said that this would of great advantage to citizens, because NIPOST has a wide reach across the country so that distance or the weight of the goods would not be a hindrance.

On e-government services, Shittu said that technology would be used to ensure that everybody who needed government service got it and on time.

“For instance, rather than go to the passport office, if you want to renew your passport, and you know that in most states there is only one passport office you have to go from wherever you are to the state capital to get your passport renewed.

“With our NIPOST e-government services, you don’t have to go there. You go to a postal agency or a post office you pay and fill the form online and the passport is renewed for you,’’ he said.

Shittu said the ministry was prepared to make good use of technology to promote good governance and engage NIPOST optimally.