Awka – The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra on Monday advised vehicle owners in the state still displaying the old number plates to migrate to the new ones known as: Autoreg.
Mr Sunday Ajayi, the state FRSC sector commander, told newsmen in Awka that this was for the protection of their vehicles against theft and other vices.
He said that the command recently recovered a vehicle stolen from Enugu at the point of registration in Awka.
“What we did was to search for the details of the vehicle through the autoreg facilities.
“This was when the owner said he wanted to register it for the first time, on our data base.
“Then, we discovered that the vehicle had already been registered before.
“The discovery was made possible because the original owner of the vehicle registered it properly with autoreg, which has several security advantages that people know about.
“That was how we were able to return the vehicle to the original owner with the help of the police,’’ Ajayi said.
He called on motorists to be personally involved in the process of their driver’s licences and other car documents to avoid falling into the hands of touts.
The commander said that touts were fond of issuing fake licences or documents to unsuspecting vehicle owners.
He stressed that the cost of a new driver’s licence remained N6,350, adding that those who complained of additional fees did not pass through due process.
“You should avoid obtaining your driver’s licence by proxy, it is unconstitutional,’’ Ajayi said.
He urged the 21 driving school proprietors in the state to meet the requirement for operating them or be sanctioned.
“It is a good point of business but you must fulfill the requirements to operate. Those who do not operate properly will be sanctioned. Help FRSC to help you,’’ he said.
He said the command was planning to return to the driving school programme of the early 1970s for people to learn driving properly.
Ajayi said the command also planned to embark on advocacy visits to places of worship, schools, markets, banks, as well as radio and television stations in the state.
The visit would be to enlighten the citizens on various safety measures associated with driving, he said. (NAN)
