US AMBASSADOR LAUDS DRIVERS’ LICENSE ADMINISTRATON PROCESS IN NIGERIA

Impressed by its deployment of sophisticated Information and Communication Technology platforms, the United States of American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, has commended the management of the Federal Road Safety Corps for its giant strides on driver’s license administration in Nigeria.

Speaking after processing his driver’s license during a courtesy visit to the FRSC National Headquarters in Abuja, the American Ambassador was particularly impressed with the Corps’ initiatives which has resulted to a seamless and real time collation of data on road crashes from any part of the country, which to a large extent, has added impetus to road traffic management in Nigeria,  “ I am impressed with the use of sophisticated system to pull data from the entire country” he said.

On the Corps’ integrated communication platforms, the Ambassador also commended the FRSC for establishing a Call Center with sustained interface with its operatives on the highways and a Data Centre to ensure effective collation, storage, retrieval and management of road crash details, in addition to the synergy which the Corps enjoys with other relevant agencies on information sharing.

Still on the driver’s license, he gave kudos to the FRSC for operating a harmonized and centralized motor vehicle administration system which is not obtainable in the United States of America where every State has its peculiar process for vehicle administration, adding that Nigeria’s driver’s license process enjoys some sophistication which is yet to be adopted in America.

Ambassador Entwistle also commended the Corps’ disposition to capacity building and its sustained partnership with the State of California to train its personnel on road safety management and vehicle administration.

During the visit, the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive, Osita Chidoka, said that the FRSC has established an integrated platform on vehicle registration which ensures that insurance details of vehicle owners are captured on-line in the course of registering their vehicles, to ensure sanity and responsiveness in the Insurance Sector.

“Through the new vehicle number plate platform, we assist other agencies in the verification of genuine insurance documents of motorists on Nigerian roads”.

Chidoka also said the Corps was working on similar collaborations with other relevant agencies and stakeholders, including the insurance industry through a technology platform that would promote right attitude by motorists and ensure safety and protection of road users.

He said, “We have solutions that have multiple facets that will assist in guaranteeing safety of road users and motorists, and one of it is the new vehicle plate number which, when concluded, will help several agencies to key in to make the roads safer and secure for the Nigerian people”.

The Spokesperson for the group, Professor Hauwa Biu, told newsmen
"We are ready to go into the forest and search for the girls. In fact, we are prepared to risk our lives and get up to Boko Haram camp and appeal to them to release the children to us so that they can re unite with their parents. There is nothing extraordinary in our quest to enter the dangerous forest. We learnt that some men in Chibok had earlier embarked on such mission, which later turned out to be fruitless. We felt that as mothers, we are in a better position to have the sympathy and concern over the fate of the missing girls. Our target is not to fight the abductors, but we want to beg them to release the girls in the name of the God that we all worship.”