Regina Otokpa 
The Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government Owned Companies (SSASCGOC) and the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Employees (NUPTE) have alleged an ongoing plot by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to ensure that the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) becomes extinct.
The Unions which spoke at a one-day protest on Friday in Abuja, accused the BPE of hiding under the guise of reform/commercialisation to run down the services and relevance of NIPOST by shutting them out of e ngagements a nd operations around the two NIPOST subsidiary companies; NIPOST Properties and DeveIopment Company Limited and NIPOST Transport and Logistics Services Limited. General Secretary SSASCGOC, Comrade Ayo Olorunfemi, who addressed newsmen at the protest, warned that the Unions would resist any attempt to weaken the services of NIPOST, and has asked the takeoff of the two sub-sidiaries be put on hold until their concerns were critically looked into and addressed.
He said:”The BPE began the process of commercialisation in the Nigerian Postal Service with the assurance of making NIPOST a more service-oriented and profit- driven organization. The proposed reform according to the BPE will not only improve the traditional services of NIPOST but will also bring about new revenue streams for the organisation, which will in turn impact greatly the morale and welfare of staffers.
“Since the commencement o f t his p rocess, t he Unions have watched with keen interest the underlying truth behind the supposed reform. In the year 2021, it became so glaring that the shrewd plan of the BPE, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMoCDE), the Federal Ministry of Finance and other self-centred individuals involved in this process was to tactically rid NIPOST of its assets and leave the Organization high and dry‘ as against the promised growth and improvement. Hence, every aspect of the proposed reform/ commercialization has been shrouded in utmost secrecy.’’
