NIPOST revokes licences of eight courier firms

THE Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has revoked the licences of eight courier companies in the country.

The revoked licences belonged to Ambassador Express Limited, Coop Courier and Cargo Services Limited, De Jetmil Courier Limited, Express General Logistics Limited, OPL Express Limited, Proservinc Limited, UK Ail Courier Limited and Focus Express.

The Senior Assistant Postmaster General and Head of CRD, Dr. Simon Emeje, made this disclosure at a clampdown exercise on “Up I Swear God” Transport Company, based in Lagos for alleged illegal operations.

Emeje explained that the companies’ licences were revoked for offences including unethical practices, failure and refusal to renew operating licences.

Confirming this development, the CRD of NIPOST, which is in charge of regulating courier activities in Nigeria, urged the general public to stop patronising them in their own interest.

The Head of CRD further explained that operators, whose licences were revoked, were duly registered and licensed to operate courier business in Nigeria, “but had however, refused to renew their yearly licence fees. Besides, the firms have been involved in several unethical practices, because they have no valid operational licence, a situation that compelled CRD to revoke their licences.”

He added: “We have carried out a downward review of the yearly renewal licence fees for domestic courier operators from N750, 000 to N500, 000 in 2013, and a further reduction to N350, 000 in 2014. We also did downward review of the yearly licence fees for international courier operators from N2 million to N1.5 million in 2013, yet the eight domestic courier operators still refused to renew their licence fees because they have the intention to indulge in unethical courier practice, which the industry strongly frowns at.”

Emeje, who said the CRD had in the past, carried out frequent raids on the courier firms and clamp down on any defaulting one, disclosed that the ‘Up I Swear God’, Transport Company, is owned by one Lasisi Gbadegesi, who resides in Lome, Togo, and his company does courier business along the west coast, even though it is not licensed to do so.

“They deceive innocent Nigerians that they are genuinely licensed to operate courier between Lagos and some West African countries like Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, up to Senegal,” Emeje said.
He insisted that because they operate without licence, they were always involved in several unethical customers, resulting in loss of customers goods that were kept under their custody.