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Lagos and drivers
licences
By Sun News Publishing
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The recent decision of the Lagos State Government to issue
its own drivers licences to motorists in the state is fraught
with grave dangers if allowed in a Federation like ours. The
claim by the state that it is trying to help the Federal Road
Safety Commission (FRSC) in this regard is not well received.
Statutorily, the FRSC is the only body allowed to produce
and issue drivers licences nationwide to ensure uniformity,
safety and standard. Section 10 Sub-section 100 paragraph
3 of the FRSC Act 2007 states clearly that it is the commission
that is responsible for issuing drivers licences in Nigeria.
But the Lagos State Government is insisting that it has powers
under the residual matters in the Constitution to issue the
document. The State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has
given approval to the plan. If it eventually becomes operational,
it then means that any driver that fails to acquire it becomes
automatically unfit to drive on Lagos roads.
According to the State Commissioner for Transport, Professor
Bamidele Badejo, the move was part of the efforts to curb
recklessness and flagrant disregard for traffic regulations
in the state. He said that those who already possess the drivers
licences issued by the FRSC would still have to undergo simulation
tests at any of the five drivers institutes which the state
would establish before they would be allowed to drive in Lagos.
But the State Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Kayode Olagunju,
has urged all Lagosians to discountenance the Lagos State
Government’s directive on the issue because of its illegality
and the chaos and confusion such would create in the entire
country.
He has enjoined all holders of valid drivers licences issued
by the FRSC to ignore the state’s new move. Considering
the confusion that this would engender in the country, we
advise the Lagos State Government to hands off this matter
by jettisoning the idea of venturing into the issuance of
drivers licences which is the preserve of the FRSC.
We say this bearing in mind the consequences it would have
on the nation if the state goes ahead with it. If this happens,
there is no doubt that other states in Nigeria would definitely
join the fray. And the dangers of States issuing their own
drivers licences are there and would eventually snowball into
motorists being forced to own the drivers licences of every
state they pass through.
The confusion such a tendency would breed is better imagined
than described. It would translate to drivers in Nigeria owning
up to 36 drivers licences. Lagos State should not allow the
success it recorded with the production of vehicle number
plates to blind it on the facts of the issue at stake. The
production and issuance of such a security document should
not be left to the whims and caprices of state governments.
There are other things the state can do to bring sanity on
its roads other than resorting to issuance of drivers licences.
Every state in Nigeria knows its bounds and there is no need
to overstretch them.
While we enjoin Lagos to rescind its decision on drivers licences,
we advise the FRSC to be a little bit more serious in issuing
the document.
The body must ensure that prospective drivers present themselves
physically for the necessary tests before they are licensed
to drive. We frown on the indiscriminate issuance of drivers
licences without undergoing necessary tests.
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