FRSC GETS APPLAUSE IN SERVICE REFORMS AT WORKSHOP ON LICENCE IDENTIFICATION BY SECURITY AGENCIES

The Director General of Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Joe Abah has commended the Federal Road Safety for its professionalism, transparency and diligence in reforms that have made the Corps a sterling example in improved service delivery in the country. Dr Abah gave the commendation during the opening ceremony of the workshop organized by the FRSC for security agencies on National Vehicle Identification Scheme.

According to Bisi Kazeem, Head, Media Relations and Strategy, FRSC,  the Director General of BPSR, said the commitment shown by the FRSC in improved service delivery, response to consumer needs and reforms in its processes, is commendable, saying all well meaning citizens of the country should appreciate the initiatives. He stressed the need for information sharing mechanism by the security agencies, noting that the improved web-based verification portal being launched by the FRSC is another innovation that would facilitate access to such information on holders of the driver's licences and users of number plates as demographics, biometrics and offences committed.

Dr Abah further stated that in this era of information and communication technology, no responsible organization should wait to be overtaken by others before engaging in reforms that could improve its service delivery system. He called on the participants who were drawn from the various security agencies to embrace the programme by utilizing the facilities to serve the cause of national security through accessibility to the data as well as nd improvement in the inter-agency communication provided by harmonized platform.

In his address, the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagna Munguno, who was represented by the Director of External Affairs, Baba Ibrahim commended the FRSC for continuously improving on its processes, assuring that the Office of the National Security Adviser would continue to render necessary support for the success of its programmes. He enjoined other security agencies to key into the platform being put into use by the FRSC as a means of finding solutions to the national security challenges.

Declaring the workshop open, the Acting Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Dr Habiba Lawal who was represented by a Director in General Services Office, Sonnie Aruyah also commended the FRSC leadership for the commitment it has demonstrated to issues of national security through innovative ideas as evidenced by the platform being launched. She noted that with the new web-based verification portal, information such as the demographics, biometrics and offences committed by holders of the driver's liccences and number plates would be accessible to all security agencies who key into the system.

The SGF called on the participants to utilize the training to understand the technical knowhow and applications to achieve the much desired synergy and information sharing mechanism among the relevant security agencies.

Welcoming the participants to the workshop, the Corps Marshal of FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi in his address, noted that the workshop was the second in the series of the training programmes being organized by the Corps in its commitment to sharing its data in line with developments in information and communication technology. According to him, the first of the workshop took place in 2015, stressing that the benefits the participants have derived from the training are evidenced by the increasing awareness created on applications and accessibility to the Corps' data.

"The training was deliberately structured to serve as a synergy between members of the security agencies and especially to create opportunity for all the services to operate on the same level in this very important national project of the Uniform Licensing Scheme," he stated.

He further noted that as the lead agency for road safety management and administration in the country, FRSC has over the years been at the vanguard of ensuring a credible licensing system for the country by embarking in reforms in number plates and driver's licences. He added that upon the launch of the National Uniform Licensing Scheme (NULS) in 1990, all the states of the federation were brought under the uniform scheme which guarantees uniformity, credibility and standards in the system.

The Corps Marshal disclosed as part of the sustained commitment of the FRSC to improve on the efficiency of its licensing system, it has again come out with a more advanced web-based verification portal for Drivers' Licence and users of number plates. This he said enables such information as the demographics, biometrics and offences committed to be easily accessible. "It also applies to the Speed Limiting Device portal, Driving School Standardization portal (DSSP) and Road Transport Safety Standardization portal (RTSSS)," he said.

Oyeyemi revealed that Nigeria driver's licence enjoys international recognition and acceptance in some states in the United States (USA) and European countries, adding that the document has become a veritable source of identification, which banks and other reputable organizations rely upon to do business with their customers. "Apart from promoting safety and national security for our dear country, the success of the scheme is also strategic in assisting in the fight against international crimes and global terrorism" he stated.

He called on all security agencies in the country to embrace it and be on the same page in its applications for the identification of suspects and perpetrators of crimes and criminal acts. He said this makes it imperative that security agencies work collectively to fight against acts of forgery and parallel production of the licences by fraudsters and touts who benefit from distorting the system.

The Corps Marshal expressed appreciation to the President, members of the National Assembly, the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the National Security Adviser and generality of Nigerians for the successes recorded in the project. He implored the participants to take the training seriously and use the opportunity to share ideas and critically examine other areas of reform in the collective desire to have a national licensing system that can assist the security architecture of the nation and facilitate security goal that is built on credible information process.

The one day workshop had in attendance all the representatives of the Security agencies in the country who were exposed to training on the applications and technicalities of accessing the Corps' database on driver' licence and Number plates, especially to be able to detect genuine and fake licences.