Fg Approves Production Of Driving Licence With Five-year Expiry Date

BEVERLY HILLS, April 25, (THEWILL) – The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi has revealed that an approval has been granted by the Federal Government for the production of another driving licence which would have a five-year expiry period.

Oyeyemi disclosed this at the weekend to newsmen in Lagos, adding that the decision to have the five-year driving licence was taken by the Joint Tax Board, JTB, at its 134th meeting held recently in Kano, which was presided over by the Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Mr. Babatunde Fowler.

Hitherto, the driving licence had a three-year terminal date after which motorists were expected to renew the document; however, Oyeyemi stated that the three-year driving licence would not be jettisoned as it would exist side by side with the new one.

He explained that with the new five-year driving licence, motorists would have the option of going for that or the one that would last three years.

Quoting from a communiqué issued by the JTB after the meeting, the corps marshal said, “The board has approved an optional validity period for driving licence of three and five years at different costs to provide more efficient an effective service delivery to its customers.”

Noting that motorists are to pay N10,000 for the five-year document while the three-year licence will cost N6,000, the Corps Marshal insisted that the cost has not been increased.

He stressed that any new applicant for any of the two driving licences would have to go to an approved driving school for training to qualify for a licence to drive.

One other decision taken at the JTB meeting was the production period for vehicle number plate, which the FRSC would henceforth complete in five working days.

While clearing the air on the recent court pronouncement on the speed limiter, Oyeyemi stated that it only declared that the commission should not fix the gadget's price or market it but it could enforce the use of device in commercial vehicles.

“I've never spoken about prices and marketing since the speed limiting device campaign started. We're not involved in that. Ours is the enforcement of the device. We're only concerned about what can bring down road crashes,” he stated.

He expressed satisfaction with the success so far recorded with the speed limiting device and commended various transport groups and firms that had bought into the idea.

Citing an instance, the FRSC boss stated that a number of transport companies have already purchased vehicles affixed with the speed limiting device now being deployed in long distance routes.