The Nigerian Postal Service has disclosed that the country will begin the implementation of postcodes and an address verification system to resolve issues of fake addresses and insecurity and generate income for the government.
This was disclosed by the Post Master General, Adeyemi Adepoju, during the presentation of a report on the Pilot Test for ‘Postcode Areas Delineation and National Address System’ in collaboration with the National Population Commission, the National Space Research and Development Agency, and the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation.
He explained that in strict compliance with the Federal Government’s policy concerning a Standard National address System, NIPOST has undertaken the adoption of an Alphanumeric Postcode System.
Adepoju noted that this innovative approach diverges from the numerical system introduced in 1986.
“This Alphanumeric Postcode, beyond its postal function, also functions as a geocode, facilitating the direct identification of geographical units. This more intricate system empowers us to accommodate forthcoming urban development and expansion areas with remarkable precision,” he said.
He stated that the essence of this is to let the entire world know that Nigeria is not going to be left behind in postcodes and the addressing system.
“It was a difficult assignment in the past that my predecessors tried their best at, but today we are having new music going on.
“The benefits are so great in terms of crime prevention, business development, tourism, transportation, and revenue generation.
“It is good to be one of the revenue-generating agencies for the nation; NIPOST has not been funded by the federal government; we look inward on how we can generate revenue for our operation and contribute meaningfully into the federation account,” he said.
The Postmaster General added that the present government is looking inward on how to generate revenue to achieve its mandate, and NIPOST is ready to contribute its quota to generating revenue for the government.
On the significance of the AVS, Adepoju declared that the people who will be giving fake addresses will be gotten rid of, adding that if the postcodes and address system are in place, terrorism can be addressed.
“Some people go to banks and give fake addresses, but with this new system, the banks can verify the addresses of customers before they can be registered.
“We have astutely recognised the imperative of establishing a robust system for National Address Verification, perfectly aligned with the principles of the National Addressing Policy.
“This endeavour encompasses the creation of a standardised process to ensure the utmost accuracy and reliability in confirming and validating addresses and their occupants throughout the nation,” he said.
A partner of NIPOST, Oleku Akinlose, while speaking on address verification, said, “We will generate revenue because what is the cost of Know Your Customer today? The banks spend nothing less than N4 billion per year on KYC, if that money is coming from the government.
“Because of the innovative method NIPOST wants to use to solve the problem of addressing, students, SMEs, and a lot of youth will be engaged. So that money is not just going to NIPOST, rather it will engage government at the state level and local government level in the process of identification and verification across all fields, so this affects security, financial inclusion, health, and planning at every level”.
