The attention of FRSC has been drawn to a write up in the
social media on the issue of number plate registration and difficulties
applicants go through in procuring vehicle number plates.
FRSC wishes to make clarifications on some of the
misconceptions and innuendoes contained in the said publication as follows:
The FRSC responsibility is to design and
produce vehicle number plates by virtue of Section 5(g) and
Section 10 sub section 3(f) of the Federal Road Safety Commission
(Establishment) Act, 2007. After production, the number plates are
handed over to the States through States Boards of Internal
Revenue (SBIRs) who now sell to the public. The payment for number
plates by motorists is strictly within the purview of the States since such
payments are regarded as road taxes. In like manner, registration of
vehicles is also the responsibility of the State Licensing
Authorities.
The FRSC however, collaborates with the State agencies involved
to set national standards and to develop a reliable national database for
all registered vehicles in Nigeria.
To register a vehicle, an
applicant is expected to go to the Motor
Licensing Office of the State Board
of Internal Revenue (SBIR) where he would be guided on
the process and procedure of vehicle registration. Alternatively, the
applicants can apply online by visiting www.nvisng.org and fill
form MVA 01, submit the form, after which an item number will be automatically
generated which will be taken to SBIR for necessary payment. The applicant
will then be issued with necessary vehicle documents. These are
Vehicle License, Certificate of Road Worthiness, Valid Insurance Certificate and Proof
of Ownership Certificate.
The FRSC and SBIRs are not unaware of the activities of
unscrupulous elements who are bent on circumventing the due process of vehicle
registration for fraudulent and criminal purposes, and that was why processes
are being put in place by FRSC in collaboration with SBIRs to checkmate
their evil machinations. One of such processes is the development
of the online Information Verification Portal (IVP) which affords
applicants and vehicle owners the opportunity to verify online the genuineness
of their vehicle registration and number plates.
Many fake number plates and faulty registration have been
discovered through this platform. In fact, the security agencies have been able
to track stolen vehicles as well as some vehicles used in the commission of
crimes. This underscores the importance of the verification portal as a
veritable tool in fighting fake vehicle registration and boosting safety as
well as national security.
Let us also address the issues raised in more specific
manner.
a). That a
Plate Number belonging to a particular vehicle when verified on NVIS Platform,
may show details of another vehicle.
This can be caused by one of two
possible reasons.
The first possibility is that one of
the two Vehicle Owners had bought a fake Number Plate while the other owner
bought an FRSC/Lagos State Produced Number Plate. The Portal will however
accept just one of these registration and as such the other vehicle owner will
always see details of a different vehicle when trying to verify the Number
Plate on NVIS. To resolve this, the owner must visit MVA Office to complain and
have the State Official sort out who the authentic Number Plate Belong to and
communicate same to FRSC.
The second possible reason is that
the Original Vehicle Owner whose information is saved on NVIS had sold the
Vehicle to another individual alongside the Plate Number. Instead of the new
owner doing a Change of Ownership, he/she had decided to register the Vehicle
as a Fresh Registration with his own detail which the NVIS Portal will not
accept since the same information already exist in its database. It is also
possible that the new owner did a Change of Ownership at the MVA office but the
record was pushed to NVIS Portal as Fresh Registration instead of Change of
Ownership entry. To resolve this, owner should visit Motor Licensing Authority
(MLA) and ask that the vehicle registration be pushed to FRSC as Change of
Ownership entry as against being pushed as Fresh Registration.
b). That a
Number Plate which has been assigned to a particular vehicle is yet to complete
its registration.
This is a case of incomplete
registration by the owner of the vehicle or that the registration detail has
not been uploaded unto the portal. Without a valid insurance Certificate,
the vehicle registration is incomplete.
c). Plate
has been produced by FRSC but yet to be assigned to a vehicle.
This is a genuinely produced number
plate but registration details are yet to be uploaded unto the portal. To
resolve this, vehicle owner should visit state MVA to complain and have his or
her details uploaded to NVIS Portal.
The essence of the Information
Verification Portal is to assist the owner of the vehicle and security
operatives on the status of the number plates. The idea is that when the owner
of the vehicle discovers that there are issues with the registration, he should
use the status or information gathered to clarify with the licensing office
that handled the registration and if through a third party, confront the handlers.
In summary, the verification portal
provides four options when verifying number
plates depending on the stage of registration as follows:
a) Number not produced but
tried to be registered by any applicant will result in “Invalid Number
Plate”
b) When a number is
produced but not registered/ data not uploaded, this is the message you, “Number
produced but not Registered”
c) When a number is produced and
registered without genuine Insurance policy that is verifiable by NIIDB, the
message you get is what the complainant got as “Number plate has been
assigned to Lexus Jeep. However vehicle registration is yet to be
completed."
d) When a registration is fully
completed with genuine Insurance Policy resulting in the printing of Proof of
Ownership, message will be “Number plate has been produced by
FRSC and assigned to TOYOTA HIGHLANDER on 6/11/2013”
Finally, we wish to reiterate that the role
of FRSC in vehicle registration is to set standards, design and
produce number plates which are handed over to the SBIRs for distribution to
the general public after payment of requisite road taxes. The FRSC is
also involved in maintaining a reliable national database of all
registered vehicles. FRSC should therefore not be castigated for the
responsibilities of other agencies in the vehicle registration process. In
fact, FRSC should be commended for being proactive by
introducing the verification platform. For the avoidance of
doubt, to verify your number plate, you can use any of the following:
i. Visit www.nvisng.org and
verify the number plate
ii. Text verifyplateno (Plate Number)
to 33324 on your mobile phone. E.g. verifyplateno ABC000JR.
iii. Visit the FRSC Desk Officers at the
SBIRs.
This is to assure the general public that the FRSC is
always ready to collaborate with states in ensuring effective motor vehicle
administration that will promote safety on our roads and enhance
national security.
We crave the support of all.
For further enquiries, contact:
1. CC Imoh Etuk on 08077690055
2. CC Bisi Kazeem on 08056294003
3. DRC Michael Odiaka on 08155458071
Tags
Society