There
is palpable sense of anxiety among many vehicle owners in the Federal
Capital Territory as the deadline set by the Federal Road Safety Corps
for motorists to obtain the new number plate comes close.
The deadline is September 30, 2013.
Although the FRSC says it has set up
plants in Gwagwalada, FCT and Awka in Anambra State to produce enough
number plates, the corps has not met the demands even as motorists
complain about the non-availability of the product.
Commercial bus drivers are particularly
apprehensive over the decision of the FRSC and the FCT Directorate of
Road Transport, otherwise known as Vehicle Inspection Officers, not to
allow them to apply for the new number plates.
Though a sizable number of vehicles are already sporting the new plates, many others are still using the old ones in the city.
Findings indicate that many motorists,
especially commercial taxi cab drivers, are worried over the deadline,
which they feel will compel them to pay about N32,000 for the number
plates.
The FRSC Corps Marshal, Osita Chidoka,
says the official rate for the new number plate is N15,000, while
replacement is N10,000.
According to him, the cost of the new
driver’s licence is N6,000 while that of motorcycle operators is N3,000.
The Standard Motor Vehicle number plate, costs N15,000; Articulated
Vehicles, N20,000; Out of Series, N40,000; Fancy, N15,000; and Dealer,
N30,000. However, licensing officials of the FRSC and the VIO charge far
above the official rate.
Further checks show that the new
transport policy of the FCT Administration, which bars commercial buses
from operating in Abuja, has been surreptitiously extended to ‘block’
the commercial drivers from obtaining the new number plates. This, a
motorist says, is to bar commercial drivers from operating on the
fringes of the city.
Our correspondent gathered that many
commercial drivers that approached the FRSC and the VIO for the new
number plates were not attended to. A bus driver, Daniel Akepo, claims
he made several unsucessful attempts to obtain the new number plates.
According to him, even the licensing officials advised him to go to nearby Nasarawa or Niger State for the plates.
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