The Senate has directed the Federal Road Safety Commission to suspend immediately the implementation of the new driving licence and vehicle number plates on the grounds that the innovation is creating further hardship for Nigerians.

It also mandated its Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs to conduct a public hearing on the new scheme, with a view to ascertaining its desirability or otherwise.

The resolutions were reached after members debated the motion on the new FRSC scheme brought by Senator Aweisu Kuta.

Moving the motion, Kuta said the Federal Road Safety Act empowered the commission to prevent and minimise accidents on the federal highways and not as a revenue generating agency for the government.

He argued that the commission was also given the mandate to clear obstruction on the highways and educate drivers, motorists and other members of the public on the proper use of the highways.

Kuta said, “The commission in recent times has embarked on frequent and arbitrary introduction and re-introduction of vehicle number plates and driver’s licenses.”

According to him, the commission is likely to generate about N2bn annually as its own share of the new scheme, following the increase in the cost of production of licences and number plates.

He said the scheme was generating a public outrage at the moment, given that Nigerians are generally financially incapable of meeting the requirements of the new scheme due to the harsh economic realities.

“Also the August 31, 2012 dateline issued by the commission for the enforcement of the new scheme is not feasible because the current demand for vehicle license surpasses supply and thereby forces applicants to wait for as long as three months after payment before receiving number plates.

“The scheme has encouraged the activities of touts and middlemen which has further heightened the increases,” Kuta said.

Senator Barnabas Gemade, argued that the move on the part of the FRSC was controversial as the VIO had taken the commission to court on the matter and the court had restrained the commission from going ahead on the matter.

Smart Adeyemi, who heads the Senate Committee on FCT, said, “It is clear that the FRSC has gone beyond its mandate. It is our responsibility to call this commission to order. They should work within the framework of the law. The cost of procuring the number plates is too high for the common man.”
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