Joseph Inokotong, Abuja
Following the lockdown directive given by President Muhammadu Buhari to curtail the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic last Sunday, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has ordered the shutting down of Driver’s License database in Abuja with immediate effect.
Expectedly, the Driver’s License Centres will not be able to process licenses for applicants nationwide.
However, applicants can go via the online BY-PASS mode to process for the license to be delivered after the lockdown period.
In a press release by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, the shutdown is aimed at sustaining existing endeavours already in place by the Federal Government to curtail further spread of the menace.
He added that the Corps Marshal had in the wake of the pandemic directed all DLCs to maintain maximum hygiene through the provision of adequate water, soap and alcohol-based sanitisers at the centres.
The Corps Marshal had earlier advised applicants to avoid physical capture at this critical moment when the world is battling a common enemy (COVID-19) and urged them to explore the BY-PASS option which is the online processing of the National Driver’s License without the physical presence of the applicant at the DLCs.
However, the driver’s license will only be collected upon resumption after the lockdown.
He said: “It is, therefore, to be noted that the By-Pass option is applicable only to applicants who intend to renew their licenses, not fresh applicants. This is hereby reiterated as part of the corps’ concerted efforts to curb the spread of the global health challenge.”
Mr Kazeem added that the closure of the DLCs will not affect the operational formations of the corps as operatives have been deployed to render required essential services in collaboration with other security and intelligence agencies at all levels to enforce both the presidential and state governments’ directives on the restriction of movement and sit-at-home among others.
The Corps Marshal, to this end, has notified the chairman and secretary of the Joint Tax Board about the effect of the temporary shutdown of the DLCs nationwide, he further stated.