Senate stops FRSC fromissuing new number plates,license

Senate has ordered
the Federal Road Safety
Commission, FRSC to stop
issuing new vehicle number
plates and driver’s license.
The order was upon the
adoption of a motion on
new number and driver’s
sponsored by Senator Dahiru
Kuta and 19 others in which
they condemned the
indiscriminate fees charged
by the FRSC on the new
number plates and driver’s
license.
Senators during the
consideration of the motion
on Wednesday described the
new vehicle number plates
issued by the commission as
illegal noting that act that set
up FRSC does not empower it
to issue number plates.
Moving the motion, Kuta
lamented that FRSC has
abandoned it primary
mandates of ensuring safety
on Nigeria roads by turning
itself into revenue
generating agency.
Kuta said, “The commission
was not established
principally as a revenue
generating agency for states
or Federal Government, but
the commission in recent
times has embarked on
frequent and arbitrary
introduction and
reintroduction of vehicle
number plates and driver’s
licenses.
“The new driver’s license
which the commission
launched in 2011 is now
issued for N6000 as against
the N3000 while the new
number plates have
suddenly jumped from
N5000 to an astronomical
N15, 000.
“The exorbitant cost of the
driver’s license and vehicle
plate number is meant to
financially improvised
Nigerians because the
amount is exploitative,
prohibitive and insensitive
for a population that is
already facing challenges of
harsh economic conditions.”
Senators during the debate
condemned the introduction
of the new number plates,
insisting that the FRSC must
wash its hands off issuing
licenses and vehicle number
plates.
Senator Smart Adeyemi, PDP,
Kogi described the new
number plates as too
exorbitant for motorists and
illegal.
He said, “FRSC has
abandoned its mandate, it
was established to ensure
safety on highways, but
what the FRSC is trying to do
now is to render other
government agencies
redundant. Going further to
the point of managing the
issuance of license is against
the law. The cost of
procuring number plates is
too high, it used to be N3000
but I am surprise when it
went to N15000.”
Senator Barnabas Gemade
who also kicking against the
new number plates and
driver’s license regime,
charged the commission to
concentrate more on
protecting Nigerian road
users instead of diving into
revenue generation.
According to him, “This issue
is not only controversial; it
has enlisted struggles
between FRSC and VIO. FRSC
at this moment are not
executing their
responsibilities. Even the
drivers of the commission
do not obey traffic rules, but
they are now diving into
revenue generation.”
Senate President, David Mark
while ruling on the motion
said the new number plates
by FRSC was an imposition
of additional burden on
Nigerians.
Mark warned, “Let them not
impose additional
expenditure on the people
and their primary objective
was not to generate
revenue.”