Jibrin Abubakar
24 April 2008
Abuja — The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has said the introduction of state drivers' license by the Lagos State government poses serious security threat to Nigeria.
But the Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Professor Bamidele Badejo said the new scheme was meant to enhance the "sanctity of human lives," and that it would be issued to people who are "physically fit, alert and emotionally stable."
Last week, the state had announced what it called the first ever
State-of-the-Art drivers' license, saying it was meant to meet the rising demand by motorists and augment the non-performance of the FRSC.
The FRSC described the new drivers' license scheme introduced by the Lagos State Government as a subversion of the FRSC establishment Act 2007.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday signed by the Sector Commander, Kayode Olagunju, the Commission said the Establishment Act charges it with the responsibility of designing and producing the drivers' license to be used by various categories of vehicle operators.
The FRSC said apart from its illegality, it would create some complications for motorists plying roads in Lagos and its environs.
The statement said: "If a driver has to be in possession of at least two different drivers' licenses to operate in Lagos, won't that create confusion and also amount to multiple taxation? Is the scheme revenue generation based rather than safety and security? An answer is required here".
The FRSC also said that Lagos State had undermined national security in the vehicle identification (Number plate) scheme in the state.
It said: "Plate numbers earlier produced and sold to motorists have been replicated due to improper and uncoordinated generation of numbers by the Lagos State plant using FRSC codes without authority."
Copyright © 2008 Daily Trust. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Read comments. Write your own.
The FRSC has disappointed Nigerians, when it announced that senior members of the commission were producing fake drivers licence.The inability of the commission to bring the culpits to trial has completely discredited the FRSC.The FRSC should be changed to National vehicle Licencing Authority,its road functions to be merged with the police.The criterial for diff levels of licence should be established and states allowed to issue licences.It is very very difficult to get number plates in all other states except Lagos State.