A stakeholder in the Traffic Awareness Forum (TAF), Mr. Toba Owolabi, has criticized a Saturday Punch newspaper report titled “VIO Sells Number Plates for 100,000 and 120,000 Naira.”
Owolabi countered this publication in a press statement issued to select media outlets. He clarified that the VIO does not produce number plates; this responsibility falls to the FRSC.
From January to May this year, only thirty-five thousand number plates were supplied to the FCT DRTS, known as the VIO. Many motorists in the country prefer to use Abuja number plates over those from their states, causing periodic scarcity due to low supply from the FRSC and high demand from motorists.
The Punch reporter stated that he disguised himself and found a VIO staff member who agreed to contact the director’s office for a number plate at the rate of 100,000 to 120,000 Naira. Where is the evidence? As a correspondent, he should have marked the money or provided video or audio recordings of such dealings.
For clarity, the numbers in possession of the DRTS director’s office are reserved for official purposes because they are sometimes urgently required as security numbers.
Anyone can claim to be working in the DRTS director’s office and engage in unwholesome activities. The reservation of number plates did not commence under the current administration of this director.
I want to state categorically that the newspaper misled Nigerians, and such a report should be disregarded.
The DRTS, also known as the VIO, shares responsibility for number plates with the FRSC, which owns the production plant.
The administration of the immediate past FRSC boss experienced hitches and reductions in the production of number plates and driver’s licenses.
We hope that the new corps marshal of the FRSC will improve number plate production and expedite action on driver’s license releases for collection.
No one sells number plates for 100,000 and 120,000 Naira. In every organization, there are bad eggs, and the DRTS is no exception. The organization’s management has zero tolerance for corruption.
