No more arrests of motorists with ‘fake’ MOT
Monday, 17 August 2009 00:00
Juliana Francis & Emmanuel Ukudolo

MOTORISTS in Lagos State can now drive their vehicles without apprehension over the issue of the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) test certificate.

Governor Babatunde Fashola yesterday directed that, henceforth, no motorist should be arrested for being in possession of alleged inauthentic or fake MOT certificate.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Mr. John Oluseyi Coker, and his Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) counterpart, Mr. Akin Hanson, who represented the governor at a press conference at Alausa, Ikeja, said that the process henceforth, was that enforcement officers should give an offending motorist a 21- day moratorium to obtain genuine documents.

Coker disclosed that the governor also directed that motorists should only be contravened, if in breach of clear traffic offences as specified in the Traffic Law and Highway Code.

He, however, denied insinuations that the state road law enforcement and traffic management strategies were aimed at revenue generation, adding that they were to ensure safety on the roads for law-abiding citizens, as the MOT test programme was aimed at ensuring a culture of road safety.

He said: “Recently, the ministry discovered through the activities of the Vehicle Inspection Unit (VIU) that fake MOT certificates were in circulation, which lacked the security features on the authentic certificate.

“It also came to the attention of the ministry that certain centres whose operators failed to renew their licences have continued operating, using touts that often use their test centres for MOT certificates and documents such as bank pay-slip and allied documents.”

He explained that the procedure for obtaining genuine MOT test certificate should be personally done by vehicle owners.

He said: “The vehicle owner must first make a statutory payment at government-approved bank (Sterling Bank) before the vehicle and bank pay-slips are taken to any duly certified MOT test centre for the issuance of MOT certificate, after necessary inspection has been conducted on the vehicle.”

Coker noted that the step was aimed at putting touts and criminally-minded persons who, on the pretence of enforcing MOT requirement, harass motorists.

He said that there were 463 duly-licensed MOT centres where motorists could approach for the original certificate, which costs N1,000 each, adding that motorists who are harassed over alleged fake MOT documents should lodge complaints by sending SMS to 08033056975, 08033239051, 07028249983.




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