The Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department (CLRD) team of NIPOST, which began the enforcement operations.on Thursday, sealed offices of unlicensed operators and confiscating some motorbikes belonging to illegal and unlicensed operators.
Some of the affected operators had been issued with demand notices since 2023, with them not showing any interest to comply with the provisions of the law.
The General Manager, CLRD, Gideon Shonde, who spoke to newsmen during the exercise in Enugu, said that the exercise was necessary to sanitize the sector especially as the Postal, Express, Courier and Logistics industry in Nigeria had been proliferated and infiltrated with so many unlicensed and illegal Courier and Logistics Operators, posing serious threats to Nigerians.
While disclosing that he and his team had visited Enugu before now with compliance level still very low, he lamented that there had been unethical practices, such as price undercutting, pilfering, broaching, damages, loss and dumping of customers items, poaching and subletting of operating licenses with mountain of public complaints about customers being duped or obtaining money from them under false pretenses, no traceable office address nor registered brand name.
Shonde pointed out the issue of public safety and security threats, due to carriage of illicit drugs and prohibited items like small arms and ammunition, guns, gold, monies, obscene items, among other illicit items.
He however said any interested private investors into the Postal, Express, Courier and Logistics business should follow the due process and obtain a grant of operating Licenses from the Federal Government.
He advised that they should obtain a grant of Operating License from NIPOST postmaster general as stipulated by the extant laws or risk facing the full wrath of the law, and prosecution.
Shonde said: “We’re here for enlightenment, advocacy and to sensitise the people of Enugu State about the need to comply with the NIPOST Act Section 43 Cap 127 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria as regards anybody who wants to partner with NIPOST or invest in this regulated space of Postal Express Courier and Logistics business. The law stipulates that he should obtain a grant of license from the postmaster general of the federation. Failure to do do, we will be left with no other option than enforce the extant laws.
“This is the second time we’re embarking on enforcement. Unfortunately, the compliance level in Enugu is still low in spite of our enlightenment programmes with various stakeholders in the state. But we’ll continue to engage with the stakeholders and as well step up enforcement to enable more people get the operational license.
“We’ve actually done a kind of market survey where we discovered that the compliance level is very low
“We have lots of illegal operators, lots of people who hide under the cover of courier to perpetrate all of kinds of evil, unethical practices and unprofessional conducts. It’s not really safe and secure to have that in the regulated space. The industry is becoming an insecure environment
We have thousands of complaints on our offices indicating that Nigerian people are being shortchanged. You place an order via e-commerce, and you get your items pilfered, broached, damaged or a total loss of the item. There are lots of public outcry to our office as regards illegal operators, which warranted this sanitisation exercise. A professional and licensed operator will never engage in that because he knows that he stands to lose his license and government protection. But some who’s not licensed and traceable is a quack.
“This is important because it is a global best practice. Anywhere you go around the world, you must be issued with operational license before you begin operations”.
