The Supervising Minister of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) has ordered immediate suspension of a proposed hike in licensing fees for operators of courier services in the country.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami ordered the suspension at the weekend.
The NIPOST had recently announced hike in tariff on registration of courier services in the country.
However, the hike was rejected by operators and stakeholders who said the development would further worsen the bad situation in the sector.
Reacting to complaints by Nigerians on the new hike, Dr Pantami, said the government did not approve the hike.
“Our attention has been drawn to an increase of licence fees, which was not part of the regulation I earlier approved for you,” said Dr Pantami.
“The Chairman of NIPOST and the Post Master General were contacted yesterday to put the implementation on hold and send a report to our Ministry by Monday”, he added.
The Minister further clarified that “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”.
