Senate considers new bill assigning NIPOST stamp duty collection

The Nigerian Senate.

The Senate Committee on Communications on Monday held a public hearing on two bills.

One of the proposed legislation, among others, empowers the Nigerian Postal Service to collect stamp duty for the Federal Government.

NIPOST and Federal Internal Revenue Service had been having issues over which of the government’s agencies is constitutionally empowered to collect stamp duty in the country.

The bills are the Nigerian Postal Service Act (Repeal and Establishment) Bill, 2021; and the Nationwide Toll-Free Emergency number (Establishment) Bill, 2021.

The Post Master General of the Federation, Dr Ismail Adewusi, urged the National Assembly to expedite work on the bill, saying the present Act was obsolete and inadequate in view of the rapid developments and changes in the industry.

He said passing the bill into law would not only bring the country at par with other countries which had reformed their postal sectors, but also boost postal revenues of the government and encourage local and foreign investments in Nigeria’s postal industry.

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said that the National Toll-Free Emergency Bill presently before the National Assembly would establish a channel and put in place a structure to guarantee swift security response to Nigerians in times of emergencies.

He also said that the amendment of the Nigerian Postal Service Act would reposition the agency to provide efficient service delivery to Nigerians.

The Senate President said the bills when eventually passed and assented into law, would bring about significant improvement to the country’s messaging systems.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Communication, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said the Nigerian Postal Service Act (Repeal and Establishment) Bill, 2021, sought to unbundle the agency, whose responsibility would be the provision of universal postal services in Nigeria.

She disclosed that the bill made provision for the administration and planning of a national post code system in line with global standards for efficient mail delivery.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who was represented at the hearing by his colleague, Senator Tolu Odebiyi, said the bill when passed and signed into law would make 112 the emergency number of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

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