Adewale Ogunniran
The gradual phasing out of the old plates number and the introduction of the new number plates by the Federal Roads Safety Commission a few months back has attracted criticism from various quarters, not against the introduction of the new number plates but the new price regime, which Nigerians say is too expensive.
Following this criticism, a motion came to the House of Representatives as well as the Senate to suspend the new number plates, and thereafter, a resolution was made after careful deliberation on the motion. The lower chamber of the National Assembly made the resolution and the upper chamber, the Senate, concurred and so it became law and FRSC had to obey and ordered the stoppage on the issuance of the new number plates.
Later, another motion came on the floor of the House in which it was resolved that its Committee on Road Safety should carry out an investigation into the introduction of the new number plates. The essence of the investigative hearing was to avail Nigerians and stakeholders the opportunity to air their views on the new number plates and for the FRSC to explain to Nigerians the importance of the new number plates and why the commission is introducing it at this time.
At the just concluded public hearing, the House Committee on Road Safety gave everybody the opportunity to speak their minds on the issue and also entertained questions on whether to continue or discontinue with the new number plates. From the presentations of some of the stakeholders at the public hearing, they seemed to be in agreement with the FRSC on the new number plate, based on the benefits to individuals and the country as a whole.
The President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers in his presentation applauded the initiative by the FRSC. According to him, the corps has excelled in many areas, which include bringing FRSC into international front burner, consistent decline in road traffic crash among others. He concluded by saying that NURTW supports the implementation of the scheme provided it will be administered in the overall interest of all Nigerians for promoting national security and safety on highways.
In a paper presented by the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria by the National President of the association, Chief Abubakar Sadiq, it stated that having critically appraised the situation, weighed the security implications, the new number plate and drivers’ licence is a good thing, especially as it tends to correct some security lapses. The association therefore called for its immediate implementation. The position of RTEAN is that both the initiators of the scheme, FRSC, and stakeholders in road transportation should be allowed to further meet with a view to critically and strategically reviewing the mode of acquisition and cost of the items and mutually come up with a more acceptable cost.
Also, representatives of major stakeholders in road transportation should be made to be part of the committees involved in the exercise, to decide on the production and sale. The RTEAN also stated that the FRSC, state governments, local governments and other stakeholders should periodically meet to review the progress made in the scheme and make amends where necessary.
President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Joseph Daodu, in his presentation at the public hearing, said that the security situation in the country was bad and there was a need to tackle it. To tackle this, he said that the proposed number plate and drivers’ licence will provide necessary information for security agencies to track criminals and improve safety of road users across the country.
The NBA president, at the one-day public hearing on the phasing out of the old number plate and drivers’ licence held at the instance of the House Committee on FRSC, headed by Nasir Daura, called on the National Assembly to step up its oversight functions on various implementing agencies to ensure effective implementation and avoid over-pricing at the state level.
While supporting the scheme, the Director General of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, who is also Chairman, Joint Tax Board, Mrs. Josephine Omogui-Ifueko, explained that the scheme will reduce the problem of racketeering and loss of revenue and enhance revenue accruable to state governments.
The new number plate as approved by the JTB, including all the state tax boards, showed that N3,000 as against N750 is to be paid for motorcycles; N15,000 as against N2,500 for cars; N20,000 against N3,000 for articulated vehicle; N40,000 against N6,000 for out of series; N80,000 against N18,000 for fancy plates; N30,000 against N7,500 for Dealer plates; N15,000 against N5,000 for Government vehicles; and N40,000 against N10,000 for Government fancy plates.
To obtain the new driver’s licence, the JTB approved an upward review of prices from N3,000 to N6,000 for vehicles, while driver’s licence for motorcycle was raised from N1,500 to N3,000
In his presentation, Osita Chidoka, Corps Marshal of the FRSC, explained that the proposed number plates and drivers’ licence have additional security features that will help in checking the spate of road accidents and deaths caused by untrained drivers. He told the lawmakers that about 5,000 deaths are recorded on a daily basis and that the facilities available at the commission, including central database, are obsolete, cumbersome, fraught with irregularities, chaotic and portend risks to national security, adding that there was no formal standard for production of number plates in the past.
He also informed the lawmakers: “The commission had produced 231,876 new number plates as at 1 March, 2011, and so far discovered that 47 per cent of drivers’ licences renewed were fake, 154 individuals attempted but failed to obtain licences with multiple identities, accredited 214 driving schools nationwide and commenced medical certification of commercial drivers.”
According to him, the scheme will also enhance revenue accruable to state governments as unregistered vehicles would find it difficult to operate on the highway without being arrested by security agencies. The corps marshal told the committee that the introduction of the new number plates was to standardise driver’s license issuance and vehicle identification with uniform number plates across the entire country in addition to colour codes representing the purpose the vehicle is used for, be it private, commercial, government, diplomatic or military. The system would also provide uniformity and orderliness nationwide.
Despite the advantages inherent in the system, the corps discovered that the recently phased out national drivers’ licence and number plates were characterised with forgery, which are used for criminal activities. There was no database of issued licences across the country.
He said that there are cases of the use of restricted codes by unauthorised persons for number plates, while licenses were issued to people who could not drive, including the blind and limbless. Most disturbing was the non-existence of a comprehensive database, which makes crimes committed with vehicles difficult to track.
The operation of the system requires that applicants for number plates, including government vehicles, will complete Form MVA01 and a copy dispatched to the FRSC for capturing of vital information into the corps database. However, in an attempt to gather information on all vehicles registered in Nigeria through the filling of Form MVA01 administration by the state, it was discovered that these forms were not available to build up the data base.
The chairman of the House Committee on Roads Safety, at the hearing, reiterated the stand of the House not to witch-hunt anybody but to get information on the introduction of the new number plates, which would form the basis for the final decision of the House on the matter.
Now that the National Assembly has conducted the public hearing simultaneously, the decision on whether to continue with the new number plates or to cancel it outright would be decided through the resolution of both chambers of the National Assembly. Nigerians have spoken their minds at the hearing. So, it is now for the government to give the final verdict on it. Be that as it may, stakeholders have spoken in support of the new number plates because of the advantages derivable from the new system.
Ogunniran i
s a Lagos-based media analyst.