FRSC debunks rumour over number plate, driver’s licence

CORPS Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Osita Chidoka thursday 19 Febuary, 2012 debunked insinuation that both the N15,000 and N6000 fees being charged for the new number plate and driver’s licence respectively go directly to the Commission’s coffers. According to him, both revenues go directly to the respective state governments, where the two items are obtained. Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Chidoka noted that the high number of fake driver’s licences in the country and the need to have an accurate database, informed the introduction of the new number plate and driver’s licence. Chidoka urged Nigerians to show understanding on the matter, insisting that the allegations by certain individuals that the new scheme was intended to defraud Nigerians is not true. “Every Nigerian, including myself and all officers of the FRSC, must pay N15,000 for a new number plate and N6000 for a new driver’s licence. There is no exception. I have just applied for a new number plate in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and for the past two weeks, I have not got it. This is because the states issue the numbers, not the commission. All we do is to capture the data of the applicants.” Chidoka also explained that the features on the new driver’s licence were fraud-proof, a fact he affirmed had been attested to by the American and Italian governments. He averred that some Italian officials came to the commission to verify facts in respect of the new driver’s licence and were impressed by the features. He also noted that the American government was cooperating with the FRSC and had even provided some funds to assist the commission. The FRSC boss admitted that some consultants and individuals had devised means of manufacturing fake old driver’s licence in large quantity, which were then issued to unsuspecting Nigerians. “So far, about 44 per cent of those that have applied to us for driver’s licence renewal have been discovered to have fake ones. But from now on, nobody who obtains his licence through us will get a fake one.” Chidoka also revealed that some Nigerians who tendered fake driver’s licences abroad as a means of identification had ended up in trouble. His words: “Some Nigerians tender fake licences abroad, and when European officials contact us as the issuing authority to verify the authenticity of the licence, I have had cause to tell them that the licences are fake. And when this happens, whoever tendered the fake licence ends up in trouble because it is an offence to tender a fake document. But then, some of these Nigerians are innocent because they did not know that what they took as a genuine driver’s licence is indeed a fake one.”

FROM: The Guardian

SOURCE:http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76616:frsc-debunks-rumour-over-number-plate-drivers-licence&catid=1:national&Itemid=559