CORPS Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has said the corps will introduce the National Identity Number (NIN) information by first quarter of 2021 for vehicles registration.
Oyeyemi disclosed this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja on Friday. He said the essence of the NIN was to enhance road safety through the use of technology. He also said from December, driver’s licence would no longer be issued without the NIN information.
“I must commend the government. With the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), now we have one national database, one identity. You cannot use double identity now and with the biometrics, you cannot be funny.
“You know before, some people have about five different identities, but now, you are forced to pick one. Once you pick one with NIMC, that is what you will be using because it is now going to be as from next month (December). It is going to be compulsory.
“Now, if you want to renew your driver’s licence or you want to obtain a fresh licence, you must provide your NIN. NIN is the first thing and with that, no biometrics will be done again; they will import it from NIMC.
“So, I am talking about using technology now to enhance security. So with this, I think we will make progress we are really on course.”
The FRSC boss explained that only the Vehicles Inspection Office (VIO) is authorised to test applicants before prescribed fees could be paid to the state government through their internal revenue service. He added that the VIO would, in turn, refer applicants for capturing, which would be transferred to the database of the country. “Now, a lot of things have been occurring, you cannot get licence by proxy. Anybody that does not go for the physical capture for the first issuance of licence is not a genuine licence, it is fake.
“I am happy when I came on board, I came on board in 2014, the first thing we did was to establish a verification portal. When the portal was done, all those with fake licences disappeared.
“A fake licence is N25,000 to N30,000, original licence is N6,350, but I won’t blame them, it is the ‘bigmanism’. People are not ready to follow the process and along the line too, this NIN information for driver’s licence will have the same thing before the end of first quarter next year for vehicle registration. “If you want to register your vehicle, it is going to be compulsory for you to provide your NIN these are parts of the security checks. So once you provide your NIN, it makes the matter to be simpler.”
He urged the country to take a cue from China and other developed countries that make use of technology to fight crime. He commended the security agencies for making use of their unrestricted access to the data base in checking corrupt practices in the system.
