Akpan Umoh, Uyo
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Akwa Ibom Command says the agency is commencing operation show your valid driver’s license and other vehicle documents with effect from April 4 in Uyo Metropolis.
The FRSC Sector Commander, Mr Matthew Olonisaye, who disclosed this to newsmen in Uyo on Friday, said that the exercise was part of measures to ensure safety and zero road crash on the road.
Olonisaye said that the command was worried that there were about 3, 541 unclaimed driver’s licenses at the state Board of Internal Revenue Service, indicating that a lot of drivers were driving without valid driver’s license.
He said the enforcement exercise would be jointly carried out by FRSC personnel and personnel of Akwa Ibom Internal Revenue Service.
He said the exercise was not to harass or inconvenience anyone but to ensure strict compliance with traffic rules and regulations.
“The idea of the exercise is not to harass or inconvenience anybody on the road but to ensure that all drivers and vehicles owners abide by the rules and regulations and have valid documents while on the roads.
“The FRSC Act in section 23 of the Act makes it mandatory for drivers coming out with vehicles on the road to have a driver’s license.
“The act also stipulates the penalty for defaulters which is a fine of N10, 000 and the act also prescribed penalties for anyone to operate on the road with forged documents, which is a fine of N20, 000.
“It is mandatory for anyone operating on the road to have a valid driver’s license and other vehicles papers.
We expect road vehicle owners to have valid documents while operating on the roads, this is compulsory, not negotiable,” Olonisaye said.
He cautioned officers and men of the corps that the exercise was not meant to extort drivers and vehicles owners, stressing that anyone caught would be dealt with decisively.
The sector commander appealed to members of the public, especially drivers and vehicles owners to cooperate with the agency to ensure the success of the exercise.
He urged those using government number plates to equip themselves with the allocation paper, to avoid embarrassment, stressing that anyone without allocation paper would be arrested and the vehicle impounded.
“It is assumed that such individuals have an ulterior motive for using government number plates without allocation. If you are using a government number plate, please make sure you come out with the allocation paper,” he said.