economy that will create employment opportunities and also save the country from
the huge foreign exchange currently expended on foreign software annually.
Government initiatives and policies have led to the creation of the requisite enabling
environment thereby leading to both local and foreign direct investment in IT
development in Nigeria. Prices of IT equipment and services have fallen
considerably in keeping with global trends. This will make services and equipment
available to more Nigerians as well as enable access to online information.
The potential in the Nigerian IT industry is enormous, mainly because the market is
vast and citizens are proven early-adopters of new technologies that are now the
modern tools of sustainable socio-economic development.
5.1.3
Postal Services
NIPOST is the dominant operator and regulator of the sector. It has a network of
1,065 post offices and more than 3,000 additional postal agencies distributed across
547 of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria. This extensive network penetration
into rural areas along with the variety of services offered, have enabled NIPOST to
serve as a platform for the promotion of social, financial and digital inclusion.
There are 250 licensed courier operators in the country, in addition to a large number
of courier grey market operators. As at the end of 2010 the annual turnover of the
industry was over Three Hundred and Fifty Billion Naira (=N= 350,000,000,000).
However, the dual role of NIPOST as a regulator and operator compromises its
effectiveness.
The Postal Sector is an amalgam of transport, logistics and distribution, and related
entities that are involved in the linking of communities by movement of messages,
information, goods and services. The postal sector is empowered to do the following:
i.
Collection (pick up), transportation and distribution of letter mail (letters,
newspapers, journals, periodicals, brochures, leaflets and similar printed
matters), parcels and packages, express and courier dispatches, whether for
domestic or foreign destinations;
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