‘FIRS has stolen our mandate and wants to bury us’ — NIPOST board chair cries out

Maimuna Abubakar, board chairman of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST), says the Federal Internal Revenue Service (FIRS) has stolen the agency’s mandate.

There has been contention between the FIRS and NIPOST over which agency is the custodian of stamp duty following the implementation of the Stamp Duty Act.

The FIRS, in a recently released circular, said it now has a portal for automated stamp duty collection where all stamp duty paying citizens, government agencies, institutions, and private organisations should log into and pay stamp duties — a claim NIPOST opposed.

NIPOST insists that it is empowered to print, mint, produce, retail, and provide adhesive postage stamps.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Abubakar expressed worry over the ”take over” of NIPOST’s mandate by FIRS.

She alleged that FIRS did not only steal NIPOST’s stamps but also its ideas.

The board chairman asked the public to intervene in the contention between both agencies.

“I am worried for NIPOST, having sleepless night because of NIPOST, we need the general public to come to our aid, FIRS stole our mandate,” the tweet read.

“FIRS are now selling stamps instead of buying from us. What is happening, are we expected to keep quite and let FIRS kill and bury NIPOST? We need to get our mandate back.

“NIPOST are the sole custodians of national stamps, another agency printing and selling stamps is against the law of the land.

“FIRS did not only steal our stamps but also our ideas, what NIPOST had worked for since 2016, our documents, patent and sneaked everything into finance bill and tactically removed the name of NIPOST.

“I like to make this clear, NIPOST is the only agency charged with the responsibility of producing adhesive stamps and revenue for the for the purchase of such stamp accrues to NIPOST

“There is no where in FIRS act or stamp duty act where it’s so stated that FIRS can produce stamp or sale stamp. Did you know that NIPOST had generated over 60b in NIPOST CBN account for the Federal Government?”

FIRS are now selling stamps instead of buying from us #justicefornipost

— Maimuna Abubakar (@ref_ng) August 2, 2020

What is happening, are we expected to keep quite and let FIRS kill and bury NIPOST?
We need to get our mandate back #justicefornipost

— Maimuna Abubakar (@ref_ng) August 2, 2020

There is no where in FIRS act or stamp duty act where it's so stated that FIRS can produce stamp or sale stamp #justicefornipost

— Maimuna Abubakar (@ref_ng) August 2, 2020

NIPOST said it has taken action to address the legal contradictions with the FIRS.