Dateline is June 8, 2025. That is about three weeks away. The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) is coming out with new tariffs that are aimed at improving service delivery to the public.

The Joint Tax Board (JTB) has approved an increase in prices of vehicle number plate, driver’s license, in a move that Nigerians will be required to pay more for their vehicles and driver’s license renewals.

The new price adjustment will be effective Sunday, 8th June 2025.

By this announcement, the JTB, being the apex body for revenue authorities in Nigeria, urges affected members of the public to take note of the new prices, and implores relevant government agencies and Motor Vehicle Licencing Authorities to comply with the price adjustment.

The new prices for motor vehicle and motorcycle number plates and driver’s licence as approved are as follows: 

Motor vehicle driver’s license for three years is N15,000 while for five years is N21,000. For tricycle/motorcycle drivers license, three years is N7,000 while five years is N11,000.

For number plates, the prices range in different categories and are as follows: Standard private vehicle number plate is N30,000; Standard commercial number plate, N30,000; Articulated vehicle number plate is N90,000; Dealer vehicle number plate is N100,000; 

Out of series number plate is N150,000; Fancy vehicle number plate is N400,000; Government standard vehicle number plate is N80,000; Government fancy vehicle number plate is N120,000.

Motorcycle number plate is N12,000; Fancy motorcycle number plate N50,000; Government standard motorcycle number plate – N20,000 and Government fancy motorcycle number plate N50,000.

The price adjustment, according to the JTB, is due to the introduction of enhanced security features in the number plate and driver’s licence and incidental increase in production cost.

They noted that the price adjustment applies nationwide. JTB also cautioned Nigerians to beware of touts and not pay more than the approved price.

Certainly, the economy is not smiling at anyone and it doesn’t know individuals or corporate organisations. This has resulted in the value of virtually everything to be on the rise.

Some people may be wondering why the new tariffs at this time of economic downturn. The answer is not far-fetched.

The spokesperson of the Corps, Mr Olusegun Ogungbemide, an Assistant Corps Marshal Corps Public Education Officer, has an explanation to offer.

According to him, the reviewed rates are necessitated by the current economic realities that have affected the overall cost of production. And certainly the cost of goods and services are not only affecting the FRSC but virtually every segment of the society is having a bite.

He explained that the corps didn’t just wake up and decided to hike the prices without taking into cognisance its customers. 

The corps believed that with increment of its services, there will be an enhanced seamless production process.

He disclosed that most of the materials used in the production of both number plates and drivers license are sourced from outside the country. And considering the exchange rates, the prices of those materials have risen astronomically since the last review in 2021.

For instance, as at 2021, the exchange rate was 411.63 naira to one dollar, but now it is as good as 1,650 to a dollar. See the difference.

The corps however gave the assurance that the new cost will enhance a seamless production process as well as improve service delivery to the public.

The Corps Marshal, Shehu Usman Mohammed, who assumed duties about a year ago, has been forthcoming with innovation that is placing the corps on a pedestal that the public is now admiring its tremendous improvements in the service delivery.

Need we say that in its three decades of unbroken services to humanity as the lead agency in traffic and safety management in Nigeria, the FRSC has recorded tremendous achievements in the areas of traffic engineering, road safety administration, traffic management and crash reduction.

The statutory functions of the corps, one can recall, include making the highways safe for motorists and other road users as well as checking road worthiness of vehicles, recommending works and infrastructure to eliminate or minimise accidents on the highways, and educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of road discipline on the highways.

In view of the growing need to surmount these visible and invisible challenges, the corps, under the Corps Marshal Mohammed, embarked on several reforms which include but not limited to the following: Development of a national road safety strategy roadmap, improved operational efficiency, enhanced regulatory environment, and accelerated response capability to situations that needed immediate actions, among others.

To achieve the stated targets, the corps developed transformational initiatives which are focused on People, Processes and Technology (PPT).

That is why today, not only does its staff pride as the most disciplined, but the corps stands as the best Information Technology (IT) driven organisation in Nigeria with its robust data base and over 95 percentage digitalised administrative and operational procedures.

Shehu Mohammed’s trajectory as a road safety professional from the day he joined the services of FRSC till date are the very factors that have shaped him as an all-rounder in road safety management and administration with a firm and fair handling of goal-oriented affairs as the corps marshal.

It will be recalled that on assumption of duty, Shehu Mohammed, alongside his team of management, designed and implemented programmes of action, as well as a proactive template to advance the growth of the corps in all ramifications, with the aim of trending down road crashes and fatality rate.

The corps marshal made the digitisation of FRSC operations a cardinal part of his policy thrust; as he took the bold step that was the first of its kind since the establishment of the corps. He appointed a technical adviser who will mount the wheels that would eventually bring FRSC to speed in the deployment of information technology in the work place.

He has been able to place round pegs in round holes as the catalyst, the propellant force, as well as the icing on the cake that catapulted the corps to more enviable heights and achievements in digitisation.

The introduction of Electronic Document Management System (Paperless) in the workplace would surely make FRSC the first federal government agency to go paperless. This initiative, apart from the speed it will bring to the workplace, will also enhance ease of doing business and bring down the cost of governance.

In the same vein, adequate progress is being recorded on the operational front too. Shehu Mohammed has gone a step further by initiating and launching the first FRSC Mobile Application, a one-stop shop for all FRSC products and services, for quality service delivery. The FRSC Mobile App was introduced to generate and analyse real-time data on operations, traffic crashes data management, and road conditions, and provide customers with feedback on the corps’ products.

The introduction of the National Crash Information Recording System portal (NACRIS) is another ground breaking robust data collation initiative that will help in policy formulation, planning, and education. With this portal, Nigerians could easily report cases of crashes from the point of crash. This initiative will boost data legitimacy and change global perception of FRSC crash data reports for good.

The corps, under his purposeful leadership, has proven to be right on track to eliminate the menace of road traffic crashes on Nigerian roads and usher in a season where there would be no crashes; where even if crashes will occur, it would not result in the death of any Nigerian.

With these robust achievements, there is no doubt that the new tariffs will be for the betterment of road transporters and users. The stakeholders will certainly be the beneficiaries of the seamless availability of number plates and driver’s license.