By: Ade Phillips
Senate has ordered an investigation into the alleged misappropriation of N10 billion restructuring funds allocated to the Nigerian Postal Service by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The controversy centers around irregularities discovered in two NIPOST subsidiaries—NIPOST Properties and Development Company and NIPOST Transport and Logistics Services Limited.
The Senate’s resolution on December 30, 2023, raised concerns about the unauthorized transfer of federal government shares in these subsidiaries to private individuals.
Corporate Affairs Commission records indicate that certain officials within the Bureau of Public Enterprises and NIPOST held significant shares in these subsidiaries.
The Senate’s resolution declared the NIPOST subsidiaries involved as “irregular and illegal” and recommended their immediate winding-up and deregistration.
Beyond this, the Senate demanded a comprehensive investigation into the utilization of the N10 billion earmarked for NIPOST’s restructuring and recapitalization.
The Senate’s resolution explicitly states: “The sum of N10 billion released by the Ministry of Finance for the proposed NIPOST restructuring and recapitalisation be investigated, and the funds fully recovered if established to be injudiciously utilised.”
Concerns have been raised regarding the potential consequences of these alleged malpractices.
A government official, speaking anonymously, highlighted the immense value of NIPOST’s property assets, estimated to be in trillions of naira.
There is alarm at the prospect of these assets falling into private hands through share inheritance.
The official emphasized the disregard for legal frameworks in the alleged share transfers, stating, “The alleged share transfers represent a blatant disregard for established legal frameworks. Even the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) allocates shares to corporate entities, not individuals.”
After receiving notice of the infraction, individuals involved reportedly reassigned their shares in NIPOST Transport and Logistics to three government entities: NIPOST (80%), BPE (10%), and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) (10%).
Controversial shareholding arrangements have also led to changes in the ownership structure of NIPOST Properties and Development Company.
Responding to inquiries, a BPE official defended the share acquisition, stating, “The NIPOST subsidiaries were registered in 2020, and at the time, the CAC portal only allowed individuals to be shareholders as there was no option of using companies as shareholders.”
The official added that the shareholding has been corrected to reflect the intent of the subscribers.
Leave a Reply