The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has described the courier industry as one of the most troubled sectors of the Nigerian economy now, stressing the need to save it from a stifling and suffocating regulatory regime.
Commenting on the 2020 NIPOST regulatory provisions for courier the industry, the Director General of the chamber, Dr. Muda Yusuf, hinted that prior to COVID-19, the sector had been grappling with disruptions foisted by the increasing adoption of digital technology as a dominant medium of information transmission including emails, text messages and social media platforms.
This, according to Yusuf, has drastically reduced the demand for physical delivery of information such as letters, greeting cards, dividend warrants, annual reports, academic certificates and examination results among others.
He said the foregoing limitations underscore the enormity of the challenges faced by courier companies in Nigeria, most of which are in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) space, with little capacity to cope with the troubles.
“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated matters for these firms. This explains the outrage that greeted the outrageous increase in license and renewal fees imposed on courier companies by the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
While it commended Government for the initiative, it said: “However, beyond the fees, there are other fundamental regulatory issues that the minister needs to urgently address.”
Dr. Yusuf further noted that the LCCI had strong reservations over a provision that an operator shall contribute two percent of its total annual revenue to the Postal Fund for developing postal services in rural and underserved areas.
It noted that the provision will put too much burden on courier and logistics businesses and make them unsustainable.
“This provision will undermine the confidence of investors in the courier and logistics business and should be immediately repealed,” Dr. Yusuf stated.
LCCI decried the provision which stipulates that all courier items/articles weighing below 0.5kg brought to a Courier/Logistics service operator shall be recorded and referred to the nearest Post Office of the Nigerian Postal Service for processing.
He described it as an unfair provision, saying, citizens should not be compelled to patronise NIPOST against their will, irrespective of the size or weight of the items.
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