No fewer than 288,000 number plates were issued to motorists in Lagos State in the last one year, the State Commissioner for Transportation Dr Frederic Oladeinde has said.
Oladeinde disclosed this on Wednesday during the Y2020 Ministerial Press briefing in commemoration of the first year in Office of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at JJT Park, Ikeja.
He said, “The Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) on weekly basis issues a total of 6, 000 new number plates, 24,000 monthly and a total 288,000 in the last one year.
“This administration has recently re-introduced the Temporary Vehicle Tag (TVT) to assist in providing a robust data base and sharing of valuable information about all new vehicles entering the state with law enforcement agencies; this harps on safety as well as security alertness.”
According to him, Lagos State Government, in conformity with international standard, launched a newly designed Articulated and Allied Vehicle Number Plate (AVNP).
“The new AVNP comes in a set of three, which will be fixed on the cabin head, body and rear,” he said.
The commissioner said as at February, 2020 a total of 191, 028 drivers license had been processed and issued to their owners in the most seamless way.
“Likewise, there has been significant improvement in obtaining new number plates.
“It takes just a day to process and obtain new number plates now under the present administration,” Oladeinde said.
The commissioner also said that the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI) trained 38, 988 drivers between June 2019 and February 2020 across five centres in the state.
He said that the administration had paved way for normalisation and active participation of LASDRI in driving school matters as its statutory duty.
According to him, LASDRI recorded enrollment of 44 driving schools in operation within the metropolis in the last one year, with training curriculum issued out to them to further promote safe driving culture.
The commissioner said to continue to manage the activities of the e-Hailing Transport Business within the state, a comprehensive e-Hailing operational guidelines and detailed application form have been developed, to enhance new entry processes.
He said that Abandoned Vehicle Committee had been inaugurated to complement Traffic Management and Transportation through removal of abandoned vehicles and other impediments affecting the free flow of traffic within the metropolis.
Oladeinde said that the ministry also inaugurated the Motor Parks Monitoring Committee, to monitor and supervise the activities of approved motor parks within the State.
He said that the committee would prohibit the consumption of illicit drinks and other unauthorised activities within the state at the various motor parks.
“The ministry has completed the installation of truck barriers on selected bridges across the state in order to restrict the movement of articulated trucks.
“However, the State Government has noticed that these truck barriers are damaged immediately after installation and hereby sound note of warning that anyone caught in the process of damaging or removing road furniture would be seriously dealt with in accordance with the law.”
He said that the implementation of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology had reduced human intervention in the activities of ensuring valid vehicle documentation on Lagos roads.
“The ANPR camera device has increasingly caught violators across the State, it also helps in capturing accurate data of types of violations committed,” he said.
The commissioner said that a Mobile App for the Enforcement of Traffic Rules & Regulations (Blacklist), for verifying the blacklisted vehicles had also been installed.
“There is no hiding place for traffic offenders within the state anymore,” he said.
On COVID-19, he said that the governor approved procurement of 220 hand wash machines, 1000 pieces of 50 litres of sanitisers and 50 temperature readers, and distributed them to motor parks.
He appealed to the residents to abide by the safety guidelines provided to curb further spread of coronavirus pandemic in the state.
