RTEAN Hails Drivers Licence Suspension

The Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), last Thursday described as laudable, the senate’s suspension of issuance of new driver’s licences and vehicle number plates.

The senate ordered the suspension recently, following a Feb. 29 motion moved by Sen. Dahiru Awaisu Kuta (Niger-East), alleging that the issuance had inflicted much suffering on Nigerians.

Our correspondent reports that the new licence and number plate were introduced by the Federal Road Safety Commission in 2011.

The cost of the licence is N6,000, instead of the old rate of N3,000, while the number plate costs between N15,000 and N40, 000 instead of N5,000.

Public hearing organised by the senate on the matter began on Tuesday in Abuja.

The National President of RTEAN, Mr Olufemi Ajewole, told our correspondent in Lagos that the costs of the new licence and number plate were beyond the reach of the average Nigerian.

Ajewole noted that the average Nigerian was faced with too many financial challenges that made it difficult for him to afford the costs of the items.

He also said that commercial motorists could transfer the burden of the increased cost of the items to commuters, who in-turn could reflect it on the prices of their goods and services.

Ajewole said that although the official cost of a new number plate was N15,000, under the suspended issuance, motorists were paying higher for it.

“That is just for a number plate; driver’s licence is there, road worthiness and other documentation are there to be paid for.

“You can see that, to register a new vehicle, you will require between N45,000 and N50,000.

“If a transport operator who has 10 buses in his fleet registers each vehicle for between N45,000 and N50,000, at the end of the day, it is the passengers that will suffer it because he will want to make up for the cost,” he said.

He said that the January raise in the price of petrol increased the cost of living, and that Nigerians were not prepared for further hardships.

The unionist said that the suspension of the issuance of the licence and plate number showed that the National Assembly was sensitive to the plight of Nigerians.

He urged the legislature to continue to take steps that would improve the wellbeing of Nigerians.