The Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) at the weekend sealed off no fewer that five courier and logistic operators for operating without registration and license in Edo State.
The agency also seized/impounded not fewer than eight courier and logistic delivery motorcycles during the clamp down exercise.
The exercise was carried out by Courier and Logistics Regulatory Department Enforcement team in combination with Force Criminal Investigation Department (Alagbon) Lagos and Edo states police commands.
Speaking with journalists during the exercise, NIPOST General Manager, Courier, Logistic and Regulatory Department , Mr. Shonde Gideon said the exercise was to sanitize the postal market space to get rid of quacks and those operating unprofessionally and engaging in unethical practices.
“There are lots of unlicensed and illegal courier, express, delivery, dispatch, and logistic operators operating in the country. The industry has been proliferated and infiltrated with many unlicensed and illegal operators who engaged in all kind of nefarious and unethical activities, ” he said.
These, the NIPOST boss, said include price undercutting, pilfering, broaching, loss and dumping of customers items, poaching and subletting of operating license, no traceable address nor registered brand name among others.
“It is also a crime against the state to operate in a space that is regulated without registration and licence. This clamp down is in line with the statutory provision of Section 43(1, 2and 3), NIPOST ACT, Cap127, LFN 2004, and Regulatory Operational Guid 2023.
“The exercise is to sanitize the postal market and ensure that any private investors into postal, courier and logistic business obtain a grant of license from the federal government.
“So, if you must operate in line with the provision of the NIPOST Act, you must obtain a grant of licence from the POSTMASTER General/CEO of the federation,” he asserted.
He noted that the overall objective of the exercise was to bring out the ethical value in the postal business, as some operators were carrying overweighed items, prohibited items such as cocaine, small arms and ammunition among others.
According to him, the exercise also aims to block economic leakage because an operator without a licence is not paying tax and is not known to the government.
“This operation will create a conducive environment for all players in the sector to have a level play field and ensure that people comply with the law of the land. it is not about revenue but sanity,” he added.
The NPOST manager, however appealed to courier operators in the state to comply with the law and obtain a grant of operating licence from NIPOST as stipulated by the extant laws or face the full wrath of the law and prosecution.