Lagos to issue new driving licence June 18

The Lagos State Government will commence the issuance of the enhanced new driving licence to qualified drivers on June 18, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, has said. This is coming over two months after the Senate ordered the Federal Road Safety Corps to suspend the implementation of its new driving licence and number plate scheme, which initially fixed August as the deadline for all drivers to obtain them. Opeifa, who spoke at a briefing in Lagos on Wednesday to mark the first year of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s second term, said the new driving licence would be data-based.

“I am delighted to inform you that the Lagos State Government has concluded arrangements to kick-start the new unified licensing scheme as all logistics required for the commencement have been put in place,” he said. According to him, 45,644 applicants have registered with the ministry for the new driving licence, even with the suspension of the physical capture and issuance of licence by the FRSC in the last one year.

He gave the cost of the new licence as N6,000, adding that the FRSC and Vehicle Inspection Office still had mandatory roles to play in the tripartite processing arrangement, which also involved the state’s Motor Vehicle Administration Agency.

The commissioner, who also stressed that the enhanced driving licence scheme would be data-based, said the FRSC had provided the state government with the necessary support to ensure the success of the project.

The state government had in April last year announced plans to produce and issue its own driving licence, citing alleged lacklustre attitude on the part of the FRSC, a Federal Government’s agency saddled with the responsibility of producing the document nationwide, as the reason for its action. The agency has since its establishment in 1989 been solely responsible for the production of driving licences. There were also reports of fraudsters taking advantage of the decision by the FRSC to suspend the production of driving licences for Lagos State by mass producing fake licences and selling them to desperate drivers.

The commissioner, who lamented that it was challenging dealing with over 75,000 unregistered commuter buses operating in the state, said the ministry had commenced the process for the documentation of all commercial commuter buses, owners and drivers for the purpose of safety and security. Opeifa also said the state government had in the last one year focused on the provision and standardisation of pavement markings, traffic signal light and crash prevention guidance. For instance, he said 44 roads representing 108 kilometres had been paved out of 82 roads, while 22 others covering 71 km were at different stages of completion.

“The implementation of programmes for median barriers, bus lay-bys, bus stops and shelters as well as road calming and safety devices will commence in the third quarter of 2012,” he said.

From: The Punch

Source: http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/lagos-to-issue-new-driving-licence-june-18/