Reps direct committee to probe FRSC over driver's licence revenue
The House of Representatives yesterday directed its Committee on the Federal Road Safety to investigate operational issues pertaining to the issuance of driver’s licence, revenue generation, and usage across the country.
The resolution followed a motion sponsored by the Leader of the Labour Party (LP) Caucus in the House, Victor Afam Ogene, at plenary.
Ogene said there was an existing tripartite arrangement between the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the states’ Board of Internal Revenue (BIRs), and the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) leading to the issuance or renewal of a driver’s licence.
The lawmaker said the approving signature on a driver’s licence typically comes from a designated officer at the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) in the state where the licence application originated from.
He said a learner’s permit for driving a vehicle is first issued at a prescribed fee by the MVAA in the relevant state before the release of a driver’s licence.
Ogene said: “The FRSC operates a Very Important Person (VIP) centre, ostensibly for the renewal of a driver’s licence but which is reportedly being used for issuing fresh driver’s licences that are not preceded with a learner’s permit.
“The Joint Tax Board (JTB) reviewed the fees payable for a five-year and three-year driver’s licence to N21,000 and N15,000, respectively, for a motor vehicle; N11,000 and N7,000, respectively, for a motorcycle or tricycle since November 1, 2024.
“The FRSC is alleged to use its Information Processing Centre (IPC) for warehousing data for driver’s licences and manipulating it to sideline and shortchange the States’ Boards of Internal Revenue (BIRs) and the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) in the collection and usage of fees for processing driver’s licences.
“The FRSC is reportedly controlling receiving accounts for driver’s licence fees, including those from Driving School Certification and Driving History Applications meant for foreign travel applications, the yearly revenue generated from chargeable fees, which amounts to hundreds of billions of naira, is also allegedly unaccounted for by the Vehicle Inspection Office and various state Boards of Internal Revenue.”
“The processing of driver’s licences is unexplainably being delayed for upwards of two to three years after the biometric data capturing of applicants.
“The huge debts the FRSC owe Galaxy Backbone Limited and other system consultants that are the network providers and maintainers of the biometrics data capturing system are responsible for the system slowdown and the resultant long delay in the issuance of driver’s licences.”
He stressed the need to also clearly ascertain which public agency has the legal responsibility of designing, producing, and issuing a driver’s licence.
