House Of Reps Wants New Number Plate Project Halted

By Onwuka Nzeshi The House of Representatives Tuesday urged the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to suspend the implementation of its new policy on vehicle licences and number plates, saying the policy had cost implications that could worsen the poverty situation of Nigerians. In the meantime, the lower chamber of the National Assembly has mandated its committee on the FRSC to investigate the "rationale, necessity and circumstances" behind the policy. The committee is expected to conduct the investigations and submit the report of its findings in four weeks. The FRSC had a few months ago launched the new policy in which it plans to phase out the existing vehicle licences and plate numbers and replace them with new ones. The policy which apparently received presidential endorsement has since begun at a pilot phase but will fully come into force next year. Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Mr. Sam Tsokwa, set the tone for the probe of the project yesterday when he came through a motion of urgent public importance and alerted the House on the implications of allowing the FRSC to continue its implementation. In the lead debate, Tsokwa argued that whereas the law establishing the FRSC gave it the mandate to regulate road traffic and ensure safety on the roads, the commission had abandoned its core functions and concentrated efforts on frequent changes in vehicle number plates at exorbitant prices. He stated that the FRSC was not established as a revenue generating agency and should hands off projects that would portray it as an institution where projects were designed solely to milk the masses. He disclosed that the new number plates and licences would cost vehicle owners at least additional forty per cent of the price of the existing licence and number plates. Tsokwa alleged that the new policy was being propelled by a powerful clique led by a proxy- consultant whose principal interest was pecuniary. "It is worrisome that the FRSC has at her whims and caprice phased out, introduced and re- introduced, at various points in time and with utmost disregard to the feelings and pains of Nigerian masses, new vehicle number plates and licences . "At every instance that a new policy on vehicle number plates and licences are introduced and implemented, vehicle owners get poorer as they are made to pay more than was the price for the same commodity," he said. Although the motion enjoyed popular support from the lawmakers, most of whom were concerned about the huge cost of procuring new licences and number plates, there were also some lawmakers who called for caution. Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Leo Ogor, said while the House should be seen to be on the side of the people, the should also be consideration for the security implications of the project. Ogor said while he would not hold brief for FRSC, he was aware that part of the motivation behind the new policy was to ensure a central database for all vehicles in the country to enhance easy tracking and identification of their owners in view of the emerging challenges of car bombing and other acts of terrorism in the country.