- By Halimah Olamide
There is currently tension at the Garki, head office of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) on Monday as workers of the government-owned postal company shut the gate against the newly appointed Postmaster General of the Federation, Tola Odeyemi.
NPO Reported on Sunday that the sacked Postmaster General, Sunday Adepoju, had claimed that President Bola Tinubu had changed his mind and had asked Odeyemi to see him for consideration for another position.
On Monday, some workers in the agency displayed placards at the gate of the postal company, a parastatal struggling for survival in view of the new digital modes of messaging across the world.
There has been leadership instability in the agency since 2019.
NPO Reported that a source at NIPOST had disclosed that Adepoju, desperate to retain his position, had contacted some presidency officials after the official announcement of new CEOS, to help him remind the President that he was just appointed last year after he was suggested to former Minister, Ali Pantami, to replace former Postmaster General of the Federation, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi.
A statement by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media had on October 11, announced new heads for the agencies.
Those announced were Executive Vice Chairman / CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) — Aminu Maida; Managing Director / CEO, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) — Nkechi Egerton-Idehen; Director General / CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) — Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi; National Commissioner / CEO, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) — Dr. Vincent Olatunji and Postmaster General / CEO, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) — Tola Odeyemi.
It was gathered that the battle to save Adepoju’s job had pitted some presidential aides against one another.
Indeed, the newly appointed Special Adviser to the president of Communication Technology, Idris Alubankudi, had gone ahead to say that reports of Adepoju’s return to NIPOST was fake.
Unknown to Alubankudi, it was learnt, some interests within the presidency had sailed through with his reinstatement.
The battle was what reportedly led Adepoju to make a triumphant entry back to the Garki headquarters of NIPOST to a loud welcome by some members of staff.
In a video seen by the NPO Reports, Adepoju was seen waving and making victory signs to the workers who came out of their offices to welcome him back to the office.