The Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Osita Chidoka, has refuted insinuations that the new driver’s licence and number plate project was intended to generate revenue.
This was just as the chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on International Security,? Hon Aliyu Ibrahim Gebi (CPC, Bauchi) urged the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Immigrations Service (NIS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to explore the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), in improving their operations.
Speaking when the members of ICT committee visited the headquarters of the FRSC in Abuja yesterday, Chidoka debunked reports that the policy would generate billions of naira and added that it was strictly an exercise to improve security of road users and Nigerians in general.
“I read reports where I was quoted as saying the project will generate some billions of naira for the FRSC. I never said that”, he stated.
Speaking after the tour of ICT innovations at the FRSC headquarters in Abuja, Gebi who expressed satisfaction with the state of the art equipment used for monitoring and other activities of the FRSC, said, “we are impressed by what we see. This is a model that should be replicated in all government ministries and agencies. Its a system that promotes transparency, accountability and efficiency”.
Gebi said the equipment was same as that used in top security circles such as the parliament in the United States of America and urged the Corps marshal to ensure that his officers did not taunt the job by “doing things the Nigerian way.”
This was important because it would mean that, “all your effort will be in vain if your men slip back into the Nigerian way of doing things.”
Chidoka had earlier, while taking the members on a tour, showed them the data base for the new driver’s licence and vehicle number plate which ensured that biometric data of individuals could not be counterfeited.