4th July, 2012
Daniels Ekugo
House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, has recommended a downward review in the prices of the new number plate and driver’s licence scheme by the FRSC.
The committee, in its report submitted to the plenary by its chairman, Nasiru Zangon Daura on behalf of other members, affirmed that the general opinion on the scheme is laudable and should be retained, except the hike in the price occasioned by the introduction of other levies by State Boards of Internal Revenue.
The house had at its sitting on Tuesday, 3 July, 2012 considered a motion that FRSC reduce production cost of new driver’s licence from N3, 000 to N2, 500 and urges the Joint Tax Board and State Boards of Internal Revenue to commence the process of reviewing downwards the price of the new driver’s licence to N5,000.
It, however, urges the State Houses of Assembly through the Conference of Speakers to look at the issue with a view to adopting the recommendations by the House.
The committee, in its recommendation to the state Houses of Assembly, mandated the police and Vehicle Inspection Officers to collaborate with FRSC to access the robust data on vehicles and drivers being generated under the upgraded National Vehicle Identification System instead of duplicating the existing infrastructure with additional cost to the people.
It also urged the FRSC, the Joint Tax Board, state governments and security agencies to collaborate and intensify efforts at tracking fake, parallel production and issuance of licenses and number plates with a view to bringing culprits to book and nipping the ugly trend in the bud.
The committee, however, approves the extension of time frame by not less than one year from the date of adoption of these recommendations and directed the commission to embark on massive orientation, education and enlightenment campaigns on the official rates payable on number plates and driver’s licence and encourage each state to display all the component cost of registering a vehicle in their respective one stop shop.