The Post Office is a structure built by Federal Government to provide postal services in various communities throughout the Federation. Its services are very vital to urban centers and rural communities and instrumental to carrying out government, economic and social activities. Government in its wisdom puts high premium on the welfare of the people, by providing post office as essential community development.

 

Presently, there are 955 Post Offices and over 3,000 Postal agencies throughout the Federation, although the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has recommended a post office for an average of 3,000 to 6,000 people. Going by this recommendation, and given Nigeria’s population of 120 million, there should not be less than 20,000 postal establishments in Nigeria.

 

On the average, therefore, Nigeria has only 20% of what it should provide as postal outlets in the country. The postal establishments consist of General Post Offices, Head Post offices, Departmental Post Offices, Sub-Post Offices, Postal Agencies and mobile Post Offices. Types of Postal Establishments: The different types of postal facilities are as follows:

 

1. General Post Office (GPO): This is the highest in the hierarchy of post office establishment. Usually sited in the state capitals, it is headed by a Chief Headpostmster and carries out sale of all postal products and services.

 

2. Head Office: The Head Post office is the controlling office, for post offices in the district, into which a territory is divided. Each district has an head post office. Each head office is usually headed by a Head Postmaster (Chief Supervisor I). It provides the full range of sales of postal and allied services and products to the public. The Head office is further distinguished from the departmental post offices by the index of units of work usually calculated on the basis of volume of sales and related transactions

 

3. Departmental Post Office: The Departmental Post office is the next in the category of Post office establishment. Owned and run by the organisation with regard to property and personnel, the office carries out the entire gamut of sale and transaction of postal products and services. These offices are located usually in local government headquarters. A departmental Post Office is exclusively handled by members of staff of NIPOST.

 

4. Sub Post Office: This is a community-based initiative usually owned by public-spirited persons desirous of attracting postal services to their communities. It is slightly below a departmental post office and it carries out sale of postage stamps, transactions in Postal and Money orders. It is slightly higher than a postal Agency. All the operations in a sub post office are carried out by persons other than members of staff of NIPOST

 

5. Branch Post Office

 

6. Mobile Post Office

 

7. Post Shops