The Trade Union Con
gress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State Chapter, has lauded the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos that held that it was unconstitutional for the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to impose new number plates on motorists across the country.
Speaking to The Tide in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the union’s Chairman, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, said the union condemns the rising level of impunity among government agencies and their heads.
Onuegbu said these government agencies and their heads are only interested in subjecting Nigerians to all manner of unnecessary fees and pain solely for the sake of enriching their personal pockets.
The union boss appealed to the FRSC to focus on road safety throughout the country rather than the commission looking for avenues to extort money from road users.
Also, some motorists in Port Harcourt, on Friday commended the nullification of the introduction of new number plates by the FRSC.
The motorists in separate interviews said the judgement would save motorists from exploitation by the commission.
A motorists, Mr Rowland Brown, told The Tide that the “Judgment is the best thing that has happened to an average citizen of Nigeria.
He said “it is unimaginable that as hard as things are in the country today, an organisation could force one to part with one’s hard-earned money.”
Brown said the reason advanced by the commission for introducing the number plate  was not tenable.
Another motorist, Mr Solomon Gua, said the judgment is one of the ways to stop the high level of impunity in the country, especially the introduction of the new number plate.
He described the judgement as a victory for the rule of law and a step in the right direction.
Mr Iwari Walter, also a motorist, said the judgment would deter other government agencies from taking laws into their hands.
He said, “imagine the legislative arm of government was not involved in the introduction of the new number plate, it was not backed by law.”
Walter added that nobody or organisation should be allowed to take any decision without due regard to the law of the land.
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice James Tsobo had held on March 26, that it was unconstitutional for the FRSC to impose new number plates on motorists.
The court said, the measure is not covered by any law in the country.

Philip Okparaji