We Are Re-Engineering, Re- Inventing NIPOST Through Collaborations-Barr. Adegbuyi
Oru Leonard
The Post Master General,PMG, Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), Barrister Bisi Adegbuiyi has said that NIPOST is being repositioned to help in the economic revival of the nation through service innovations and collaborations with other organisations and stakeholders.
The PMG said this during the NIPOST- Fidelity Bank launch of the Integrated Agency Banking at Abuja on Thursday, June 13, 2019.
He said that since NIPOST has branches and manpower everywhere, especially in the rural areas where banks may not exist, they will leverage on the nation wide visibility of NIPOST to seek collaborations with different establishments that are have innovative proposals and ready to go into business ventures that will empower Nigerians in order to contribute to the national economic growth.
He noted that despite the innovation and global use of the internet which has removed the traditional revenue generating areas of NIPOST, a huge opportunity has also been created in different sectors of the economy and areas of business because of the massive infrastructure that NIPOST has on ground.
“Indeed, what we are witnessing today is the rediscovery of the same Post Office but in a different way to serve the needs of the people. We are re- engineering and re- inventing the Post Office through collaborations with different stakeholders from the public and the private sectors, while also leveraging on cutting edge technology to present an array of digital offerings aimed at meeting the divergent needs of our esteemed customers”, the PMG said.
The PMG revealed that the launch which had the theme, “Unifying Agency Banking and TSA Collections on a Single Platform”, will enable customers to get banking services of deposit and withdrawal of money, including payment of bills for utility services in Post offices where the services are available.
Earlier in his welcome address, the General Manager, Financial Services of the NIPOST, said that NIPOST has positioned itself to collaborate with any investor that will come with businesses that will empower Nigerians and bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.
While speaking, the Deputy Managing Director, Fidelity Bank PLC, Mr. Mohammed Balarabe, said that Fidelity Bank is interested in the project because it is in line with the bank’s strategy for financial inclusion.
He also revealed that most Nigerians do not have access to financial services across the country but NIPOST is deploying over 1400 locations to provide the bridge to all inclusive financial services. Mr Balarabe, said that Fidelity Bank will start operations in 266 branches for the pilot project.
“People should go and try us and ensure that they get the services they deserve. I assure you that Fidelity Bank will ensure that more locations will be availed with the services”, he added.
In his remarks, the Head Digital Financial Services, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Steven Ambore, revealed that over 36.6 million Nigerian adults currently do not have access to financial services and that CBN was committed to achieving 80% financial inclusion by 2020.
“With this product, by 2020, we will all stand and celebrate. The CBN is excited as we are seeing a policy directive come to life”, he said.
Encouraged by the positive development in the economy, the CBN in collaboration with stakeholders launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy on 23rd October, 2012 aimed at further reducing the exclusion rate to 20 percent by 2020.
This is to make sure that majority of Nigerians in the rural areas and/or leaving far from banks can benefit from financial services and programs.
