NIPOST Excess Landed Properties to Become Shopping Malls-Minister

Sakin Babalola, Ibadan

Excess of landed properties of Nigerian Postal Services NIPOST which are in many parts of the country would soon be explored to build shopping malls and provide job opportunities for thousands of unemployed youths.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, disclosed this in Ibadan during the week while fielding questions from news men after a personality interview organised by the Correspondent Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).

Shittu also assured that the mandate of the services which was apparently moribund would soon be revived and expanded.

He said that the present administration was worried by youth’s unemployment and its consequences and would do everything humanly possible to address it.

Shittu disclosed that the expansion of NIPOST   would include financial inclusiveness to cater for rural areas where there are no banks. .

The minister, who also lamented that he is also a victim of unimpressive service delivery of network providers in the telecommunication industry, however maintained that efforts are on-going to make all telecommunication outfits give quality service to the people.

Shittu who said there are 158 million active lines in Nigeria currently, said there is need to also consider the environment where these service providers operate adding that power failure, vandalism of their equipment and other challenges accounted for some of the problems.

He dismissed claims that cabals have hijacked the administration from President Muhammadu Buhari stressing that the issue of cabal hijacking the governance only existed in the minds of speculators.

The minister added that the issue of fine imposed on the telecommunication giant, MTN, has been settled as far as he is concerned because the Federal Government and the company had done the needful.

He noted that the fine was reduced after considering the role the company had played in the area of unemployment of jobless youths in the country.