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.”
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/senate-stops-frsc-from-issuing-new-number-plates-license/

The National assembly has done the right thing coming to the defence of Nigerians. These FRSC guys should heed the warning fast. Unfortunately, I registered a car a month ago. I paid in total about 35k. The whole place looked like a market place. FRSC should get back to its original task and not compete with customs. Banks are now competing for FRSC account. I learnt they don't withdraw from such accounts. Enough money for their friends in the banking industry to meet their target or play with. Whatever it is they are trying to achieve with this changes and innovation, they can do it with the old ones and at the old rate. Except offcourse their generator is using fuel.