NIPOST Probes Customer’s Missing Cell Phone

Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) has launched an investigation into the circumstances leading to the alleged disappearance of an item  suspected to be a mobile cell phone belonging to a customer.
A recent statement issued by the Director of Communications of NIPOST, Franklin Alao stated that the headquarters of the postal agency was aware of complaints by a customer, Victor Eze, whose iPhone allegedly got missing when the mail arrived at its Asaba office.
According to the statement, the Postal Master General of the Federation, Dr. Ismail Adebayo Adewusi, upon being notified of the allegation, promptly directed that necessary investigation be launched to unravel the circumstances surrounding the missing iPhone, and report same.
“Preliminary reports show that on the receipt of the bag containing the item from the Airline Handling Agent, the contents of the bag, of which the item in question was one, were examined.
“The item in question was also examined and assessed in full complement of the assessment team, comprising Nigeria Customs Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) operatives, postal operatives and security operatives, and the item was found breached.
“Consequently, and in line with postal operational guidelines, a Verification Note was immediately issued to the country of origin of the item, which is USPS.
“One would have thought the item should have been forwarded for control delivery in which the customer will be invited and informed of the condition the item was received from the originating country and the efforts that are being made to rectify the situation instead of being delivered in that state”, it said.
Although, under the Universal Postal Union regulations, the post is not permitted to delay the delivery of a customer’s item, hence the reason the item was forwarded for delivery.
He noted that NIPOST has issued Irregularity Report to USPS and   waiting  response.
The Tide’s source gathered that  some infraction on the item was discovered at the point of assessment by a team comprising some agencies of government at the International Mail Processing Centre, Ikeja.
“We have gotten in touch with the customer and NIPOST will do everything within the operational guidelines to protect his interest”,  the statement revealed.
It also added that the organisation had developed a new capacity for responding to such claims by customers, stating that in an age when the agency is leveraging technology to do business, it could not afford to let its customers down.
“As we are adopting new technology in our operations and seeking new stakeholders in line with global best practices, we have developed world-class response mechanism to ensure that our customers are well served at all times,” the statement added.