The Federal Road Safety Corps on Tuesday said it was planning to extend the ongoing registration for the Enhanced Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles Number Plates and Drivers’ Licence to weekends.
The idea is to be able to clear the backlog of applications, particularly from the Lagos area.
Ademola Lawal, the Zonal Commanding Officer, Zone 2, comprising Ogun and Lagos States, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos that the zone had a backlog of applications to clear.
Lawal, who attributed the backlog to network failures, said it was necessary to work at weekends in order to speed up the registration process.
According to him, the zone has a higher volume of applicants to attend to than many other states in the country.
He said: “We have arrangements with the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation on how we can work at weekends to clear the backlogs.
“Within two weeks from now, the whole backlog would have been cleared because we are now working extra hours during the week days too.”
Lawal expressed the hope that before the expiration of the June 30, 2014, the new deadline, all drivers and cyclists would have received their new documents and the number plates.
He added that measures had been taken to address factors such as network failures, that had earlier caused delays in the processing of documents.
He said: “We have devised measures to tackle all issues that can cause delays.
“In the next few weeks, our portal would have been expanded.
“So, the usual delays that people have been experiencing like network failures will be rectified and become a thing of the past.”
Lawal, however, urged drivers not to take the extension as opportunity to relax their pursuit of the registration, stressing that the new date was close by.
He said: “The June 30, 2014 extension came after consideration of so many factors.
“The Corps Marshal, Osita Chidoka, met with the Joint Tax Force, which earlier had fixed the September 30 deadline.
“I will advice applicants not to relent because June 30 is at the corner.
“It’s only about eight months from now.
“I will advice them to start the processing in good before the rush hour.”
However, the commander cautioned drivers to beware of touts, who might want to dupe them under the pretence of offering them help to process their documents faster.
Reacting to the commercial drivers’ complaints of difficulties in acquiring the valid documents, the officer said that those who failed to follow the prescribed procedures might consider the process difficult.
He said: “Those who fail to follow the prescribed procedures of going through the Internet to fill out their forms or walking to any Motor Vehicles Administration Agency office under my jurisdiction will find it difficult.
“Most of them are using touts to procure the documents.
“The touts will want to make money for themselves, so they are the ones creating bottlenecks.
“If they do it themselves, the problem they envisage is never there.”
Lawal urged all applicants, who are computer literate, to do the processing themselves on line while those not computer literate to walk into MVAA offices within Lagos State and Ogun State to process their documents.
He said: “Let them go to all the relevant offices to do it themselves without passing through middleman.
“With patience, everything will be done in good time.”
The Joint Tax Board on September 16 announced the extension deadline from the initial September 30 to the latest deadline of June 30, 2014.
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