The inauguration of the new drivers’ license and personalized number plates by President Goodluck Jonathan last Friday, the stage is set for the Federal Government to rake in N200 billion annually from the issuance of vehicle particulars.

Available data showed that no fewer than 12 million drivers’ licensers and eight million vehicles are in circulation in the country.

According to the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Osita Chidoka drivers and vehicle owners across the country have up till August 31, 2012 to comply with the new rule.

Investigation showed that the allocation of number plates would yield a whopping N120 billion to the government coffer while N72 billion would accrue from the issuance of licenses.

Chidoka put the amount payable for a private driver’s licence and number plate at be N6, 000 and N15, 000 respectively.

He did not disclose what commercial driver’s licences and number plates would cost.

An official; who spoke on the matter in confidence said the Joint Tax Board (JTB) of the Federal Government would determine the rate for the commercial vehicle operators. He, however, sad it would not be far different from what private owners would pay.

The FRSC chief had in a paper he presented at the Dance/Award Night at the University of Nigeria Alumni Association, Abuja Branch on December 18, 2007, stated that 12 million driver’s licenses were in circulation.

In his paper entitled: “The Role of the Driver’s License in State Building”, Chidoka had stated: “Despite the acceptance of driver’s license as one of the most acceptable form of identity in Nigeria currently, it is appalling that of the 12 million driver’s licenses in circulation, only two million of them have the correct records of the holders in our database.”

Although the figure would have risen tremendously about three years after, if 12 million drivers’ licenses to be replaced their licenses at N6000 each, the government would earn nothing less than N72 billion.

It was also learnt that there are no readily available records for the number of vehicles in circulation in Nigeria.

But while receiving the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joseph Daudu in his office in April this year, Chidoka stated that about eight million vehicles currently ply the Nigerian roads.

Besides, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport had, in a statement in October 2009, revealed that more than seven million vehicles operate on Nigerian roads everyday, while answer.com, an online publication, put the figure at five million.

Therefore, going by the estimate given by the FRSC chief, the Federal Government would realize about N120 billion if eight ( million vehicles owners purchase the new number plate at N15, 000 each.

Chidoka  said officials of the FRSC, FIRS and the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, popularly called Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) would render these services in a one-stop -shop being put in place for the purpose.

An official of the FRSC who spoke in confidence said the haphazard manner the issuance of driver’s licenses and vehicle number plates were handled in the past has made it difficult for the Commission to have accurate data on the number of driver’s licenses and vehicles in circulation in Nigeria as at now.



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The senate just ordered FRSC to suspend issuance of the new number plate