Senate stops FRSC from issuing new number plates, license

Senate has ordered the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, to stop issuing new vehicle number plates and drivers’ licence.
This came as Chairman, Rules and Business of the House, Sam Tsokwa, disclosed that investigation had uncovered a syndicate which had flooded the country with fake number plates. He, however, did not name the people behind the racket.
The Senate order came on adoption of a motion on new numbers and drivers’ licence sponsored by Senator Dahiru Kuta and 19 others, who condemned the indiscriminate fees charged by FRSC on the new number plates and drivers’ licence.
Senators, during the consideration of the motion, described the new vehicle number plates issued by the commission as illegal, noting that the Act that set up FRSC did not empower it to issue number plates.
Moving the motion, Kuta lamented that FRSC had abandoned its primary mandates of ensuring safety on Nigeria roads by turning itself into a revenue-generating agency.
Kuta said: “The commission was not established principally as a revenue-generating agency for states or Federal governments. But the commission, in recent times, has embarked on frequent and arbitrary introduction and reintroduction of vehicle number plates and driver’s licence.
“The new driver’s licence, which the commission launched in 2011, is now issued for N6,000 as against N3,000, while the new number plates have suddenly jumped from N5,000 to an astronomical N15,000.
“The exorbitant cost of the driver’s licence and vehicle plate number is meant to financially impoverish Nigerians because the amount is exploitative, prohibitive and insensitive for a population that is already facing challenges of harsh economic conditions.”
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