Abuja - Post Report Question and Answers
How do you send and receive your letters and package mail? Are local postal facilities adequate?
We receive mail through diplomatic pouch. It's quite random. Sometimes it takes 10 days to get mail from Dulles, sometimes it takes 6 weeks. I was told Christmas time is the worst, but in summer, delivery times go up as well. Mail is picked up at the mail room at the embassy. The staff is always nice and helpful. You can send flat mail (Christmas cards last Christmas took about six weeks to get to the US, eight weeks to Europe) and mail up to the size of a video cassette. Anything bigger requires "pony express" or shipment via DHL; however, "returns" of ordered items ARE possible, even if they are larger. - Sep 2019
They have to go Pony Express (if you will). There is no post at the Embassy for outgoing mail. Packages may come in, thank heaven, but things going out must be hand carried to the U.S. and mailed. We have had things shipped in to the country outside the Embassy mail system, but it is a costly and dicey process. DHL and Fed Ex, supposedly deliver here. We've had best luck with DHL. Which I'm sure must also ship out, but there just isn't much that you'd want to ship back unless you were a newbie and overly excited by ugly statues. - Feb 2019
Pouch only. - Apr 2018
Diplomatic pouch only. - Apr 2017
We use the U.S. diplomatic pouch and outgoing personnel to carry mail out. Postal facilities simply don't exist here. - Jun 2016
Via pouch, although the embassy is in the process of standing up a DPO. - Aug 2015
Pouch - Jun 2015
Pouch only. - Nov 2014
Pouch and it is slow and restrictive. - Aug 2014
USG employees use diplomatic pouch exclusively. - May 2014
Diplomatic pouch (there has been some talk of getting an APO). - May 2013
The diplomatic pouch. - Jun 2009
Send it with a friend? I wouldn't use the Nigerian postal service for anything -- in fact, I don't know if it even really exists and functions. - Aug 2008
We have a pouch where you can send flat mail out and receive packages and flat mail in. - Jul 2008
