The Nigerian Communications Commission and the Nigerian Postal Service are to collaborate in verifying the addresses of SIM card owners in the country.
The two agencies also agreed to work out a Memorandum of Understanding on ways to facilitate financial inclusion in the country.
The managements of the two establishments met at the NCC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, where it was also agreed that the commission and the postal service would collaborate on driving the Federal Government’s digital economy agenda.
The NCC and NIPOST will also partner on Internet access for people in rural areas and provision of e-governance services in all the local government councils in the country.
A committee was set up to work out details of the MoU which will include verifying addresses of SIM card owners.
Speaking at the meeting, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Mr Adebayo Adelusi, said the postal service was going through a difficult phase at the moment.
Adelusi said NIPOST needed to partner with NCC to leverage available opportunities.
He disclosed that issues surrounding the collection of stamp duty, which had become a bone of contention between NIPOST and the Federal Inland Revenue Service, had not been resolved.
Adelusi observed that his predecessor fought very hard to ensure that NIPOST retained the right to collect the revenue for the Federal Government.
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The Postmaster General noted that NIPOST had what it takes to provide banking services for Nigerians.
He said, “We want to tap and leverage on our properties across the country to provide services for the people in the rural areas.”
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said NIPOST was strategically positioned to work with the commission to deepen access to internet services in the rural areas as well as verifying addresses of SIM card owners.
