The new driver’s licence, number plates controversy

Left to the Osita Chidoka-led Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC) the number plates and driver’s licences currently in use would be phased out come 2012. Already, the minds of Nigerians are being prepared by officials of the Commission each time they have the opportunity to speak to the public, especially through the media.
But the plan has run into a firestorm of suspicion and criticism both by the House of Representatives and some members of the public who do not see the rationale for it. The FRSC has, since the past four years, been struggling to achieve harmony with the states on the modalities for establishing a seamless central database for vehicle plate numbers and driver’s licences while at the same time avoiding the frequent frictions that often arise over matters of jurisdiction.
Apparently, having made a breakthrough in negotiations, the FRSC is pushing ahead with a policy that will cost each certified and qualified driver who owns a vehicle to part with the sum of at least N21,000 for both items. The amount goes much higher for higher grades of vehicles.
President Goodluck Jonathan has already put a seal of approval to this scheme since he, on Friday, September 2nd 2011, unveiled the new vehicle security items. He described it as the FRSC’s contribution to his government’s transformational agenda.
But the House of Representatives is not in a similar upbeat mood about the scheme. On Tuesday, November 15th, Hon Sam Tsokwa, the Chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, raised a motion on a matter of urgent public importance when he alerted his colleagues to the dangers of ambarking on the scheme.
According to him, the FRSC’s intention is illegal, as it has no legal backing. Apart from Hon Leo Ogor who supported the policy, many other members who spoke also were of the view that the FRSC under Chidoka seems to see itself as a revenue mobilising agency of government which, according to them, it is not. The number plates and driver’s licences are estimated to bring in about N190 billion. The House has since set up a committee to look into the issue and report back to it.
Many members of the House who spoke against the scheme were concerned over the high cost of the new venture. Indeed, the year 2012 promises to witness prices of government-regulated items such as petroleum products, exchange rates and vehicular documents hitting the roof. Many motorists have also voiced their displeasure at yet another huge expenditure staring them in the face when the measure goes into force next year.
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