The House of Representatives has resolved to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate the operational procedures, revenue generation, and utilization surrounding driver’s licence issuance in Nigeria over the last three years.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion presented by Rep. Victor Ogene (APC-Bayelsa) during plenary on Wednesday, where he raised serious concerns about irregularities and inefficiencies in the current licensing system.

Ogene highlighted that a tripartite arrangement involving the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), State Boards of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) governs the digital issuance and renewal of driver’s licences. He explained that approvals are usually granted by designated officers at the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) in the state where the application is made, and that learner’s permits are issued before licences at a prescribed fee.

He raised alarm over the alleged use of FRSC’s VIP centre for issuing fresh driver’s licences without the prerequisite learner’s permit, in contradiction of established procedures.

Ogene further noted that since November 1, 2024, the Joint Tax Board (JTB) reviewed licence fees to N21,000 and N15,000 for five-year and three-year vehicle licences respectively, and N11,000 and N7,000 for motorcycles and tricycles. However, he alleged that the FRSC has been warehousing licence data through its Information Processing Centre (IPC), bypassing State BIRs and the VIO, thereby shortchanging them in revenue sharing.

He claimed that hundreds of billions of naira generated annually from these charges remain unaccounted for by the VIOs and state revenue boards. He also decried the prolonged delays—spanning up to two to three years—experienced by applicants after completing biometric data capturing, blaming these setbacks on FRSC’s debts to Galaxy Backbone Ltd. and other system consultants maintaining the biometric infrastructure.

Ogene called for a clear definition of the agency legally responsible for designing, producing, and issuing driver’s licences to eliminate overlapping mandates and improve efficiency.

In response, Speaker Abbas Tajudeen mandated the yet-to-be-constituted committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation and submit its findings within four weeks for further legislative action.

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