American investors ask National Assembly to ensure Nigeria Postal Commission Bill allows for competition

AMERICAN telecommunications investors have asked the Nigerian National Assembly to review some of the provisions of the Nigeria Postal Commission Bill currently before it with a view to opening up the sector to foreign direct investment (FDI).

Nigerian legislators are currently debating a new bill designed to address the plethora of problems affecting the postal service with a view to getting the comatose Nigerian Postal Service working again. Speaking in Lagos on the subject, Margaret Olele, the chief executive of the American Business Council (ABC), urged legislators to ensure that the new law, when passed boosted investors’ confidence and economic growth.

ABC is an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce and seeks to promote trade and investment between the US and Nigeria, as well as the interests of American businesses in Nigeria. Ms Olele said that American courier companies were worried with the monopoly privilege conferred on the Nigerian Postal Service (Nipost) for delivery of items weighing 1kg and below.

She added: “It is inimical to investment, which means that if you are taking your passport to the embassy, or sending your transcript outside Nigeria, UPS and DHL cannot take it. When we make laws, we should look at the applicability and impact of it, so why can we not have a free market system and allow market forces drive opportunities?

“UPS, DHL, Fedex and Redstar have come into Nigeria and invested so much in the economy in terms of employment creation, tax payments and corporate social responsibility. We now want to use this bill to gag them and other courier operators, so what the government should do is to put in incentives that would make Nipost attractive, not stifle investment.”

According Ms Olele, going ahead with the bill would further worsen the risk rating of Nigeria, adding that the country was already grappling with enormous perception problems by investors. Ms Olele said that government should create an enabling environment that would not only attract investors but ensure sustainability of businesses and investments in the country.