The Presidency on Saturday assured Nigerians that the increment in courier and license fees by Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, will be resolved in good time.
The Office of the Vice President in reaction to outrage by Nigerians assured citizens that the Minister of Communication and Digital Strategy was already investigating the new fees.
We have just become aware of the recent increase in courier and logistics license fees by NIPOST, and the concerns generated,” Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said in a tweet.
He added that, “The Minister for Communications and Digital Economy is already taking active steps: those fees would be reviewed and this matter will be resolved in good time.”
Nigerians had called on Prof. Osinbajo, who champions the Ease of Doing Business reforms to intervene shortly after NIPOST published the new courier and license fees.
According to NIPOST, companies that provide international courier services like DHL, UPS and FEDEX, are expected to pay N20 million for a new licence and 40 percent of the initial fee, which is N8 million annually.
Companies that operate national and regional courier and logistics are expected to pay N10 and N5 million respectively as license fees and N4 million and N2 million as annual renewal fees.
For companies that operate state and municipal courier and logistics will pay N2 million and N1 million yearly as license and N800,000 and N400,000 as renewal fees.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
