New Driver’s License: Civil Society Groups Petition FG

A coalition of civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations for justice has petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate suspension of the implementation of the new driver’s license and plate numbers pending the determination of a suit on the matter.

The group also seeks a presidential directive restricting the activities and functions of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to traffic on federal roads which is in line with the Appeal Court judgment and appropriate section of the constitution that established it.

In a five-page petition to the president Dr Goodluck Jonathan, the coalition under the auspices of Justice and Law Enforcement Reformation Organisation of Nigeria (JLERON) described as an aberration of the 1999 Constitution, the involvement of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in the issuance of drivers’ license and vehicles plate numbers and insisted that they were “residual matters at the preserve of the states”.

The group’s position was coming on the heels of the launching new drivers’ license and vehicle numbers plates by President Jonathan on September 2nd this year.

The petition which was signed by Mohammed Bello and Kayode Banjo, the national president and secretaries respectively, the coalition said it was committed to promote, protect and defend the sanctity and integrity of the country’s constitution.