Tackling corruption in the drivers’ license application process

Emeka Ibemere

Stakeholders across the country are worried by the spate of corruption in obtaining the much important drivers’ licence in the country. It would be recalled that Nigerians have been having challenges in processing and procurement of their drivers’ license, throughout the federation.

Authorities and touts at the different licensing offices across the country are making illegal deals with the driver’s license applications, while smiling to the banks as they dupe unsuspecting and suspected applicants alike.

 Drivers’ license is an important instrument in ensuring public safety. Its main use is in certifying that the holders are qualified to drive vehicles and do not constitute threats to themselves and other road users.

The license is also a very important personal identification document. In Nigeria, the issuance of the drivers’ license has been faced with many challenges, including corrupt practices among the issuance officers over the years.

It’s on these grounds that the CLEEN Foundation, under its Access Nigeria project which works to promote accountability and transparency in public service delivery partnered with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), recently to undertake a series of coordinated activities aimed at improving the efficiency of the drivers’ license application and renewal process.

According to CLEEN Foundation, investigations suggest that not many Nigerians are aware of the right procedure to follow in applying for new licenses or renewing them.

CLEEN had in the last one year, roughly December 2014, organized sensitization workshops to raise awareness on the correct procedure to apply for the license in Abuja, Imo, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun and Nassarawa States. In Abuja, Rivers and Ogun, the rallies were held in popular motor-parks with FRSC officials facilitating.

The Access Nigeria project also organized a social media meeting on Twitter during which the FRSC engaged Nigerians and clarified on issues and challenges being faced in the application process.

According to Ralph Mbagwu, programme coordinator of the organisation who presided over the sensitisation programme on drivers’ license, said part of the commitments by the FRSC during the workshops included opening up of more application centres to hasten the process of applications on the one hand and to use card readers to check fake licenses among motorists.

“In March 2015, we commenced a study to sample public opinion on the drivers’ license application process. A methodology workshop for the survey was organized on the 25th March 2015 in Abuja with representatives of the FRSC, field researchers from the selected states and the team of the CLEEN Foundation”, he Mbagwu affirmed. “This paved way for the successful conduct of the survey in five states of Nigeria; Imo, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun, Nassarawa and Abuja between April 13th and 22nd, 2015”.

Speaking on the methodology applied to arrive at their survey, he said the survey was coordinated by the CLEEN Foundation in collaboration with Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). According to him, the total sample size of the survey is 370 covering Imo, Rivers, Lagos, Ogun, Nassarawa States, and Abuja.

He explained that 60 respondents were interviewed in each location, except in Lagos where 70 respondents were interviewed. According to him, the Face to face interviews was conducted in English language. He said the interviews covered a maximum timeframe of 10 days of fieldwork, engaging one interviewer per state at a quota of six to-seven interviews per day. He quipped that interviews were conducted on weekdays and weekends to ensure that respondents of all lifestyles are included in the sample.

On their data management, he said data capturing, quality checks, post-coding processes were handled by experienced data managers at the CLEEN Foundation. According to him, the data structure was well designed with necessary logics to detect errors and ensure clean data.

Mbagwu stated that the key findings of the group after the survey was that majority of respondents about 53% of them went through a driving school before they started driving. Also, 64% of the respondents said they passed a driving test before they were issued their drivers’ licenses.

Explaining further, he said various agencies and officials stop motorists and demand to sight their licenses. “The Police more frequently demand for licenses are 79%, while “unidentified officials” have also been reported demanding for licenses are 44%”

“Motorists report that when stopped by officials, majorities have not been asked to pay bribes. Only 28% were asked for bribes at FRSC stops while 59% were not asked to pay bribes when stopped by the police”. Mbagwu said further that most of those who alleged to have admitted to paying bribes paid out of the fear of being arrested or having their vehicles impounded.

“Only 28% of drivers have ever been arrested for driving without valid licenses; however, after the arrest, 52% paid fines as opposed to the 22% who paid bribes. Among those who applied for their licenses using “unofficial” processes, are about 57% and reported that they did so because the unofficial process was faster. While another 50% reported that friends and family suggested that they use the unofficial system.

“39% of those who went through the official channel reported that it took one to two months to receive the license. However, when asked to list the challenges facing the application system, 62% respondents cited slow processing time extortion by touts is above 20% and issuance of fake licenses by touts/agents was about 11%.

“7% of respondents say it is not possible to successfully apply for or renew a drivers’ license in Nigeria without paying a bribe. 57% of respondents will not file a report if they were to be asked for bribes while applying for their licenses. 46% say they know that nothing will happen if they reported, 31% say they do not know where to report while 18% say they lack the time and resources to pursue the case”.

Mbagwu said when asked what the cost of the drivers’ license is, 39% reported a figure of N10, 000 while 36% reported N6, 350 which is the official price.

Recommending for solution, the survey revealed that whereas there were reported incidents of corruption in the application process, many Nigerians were able to apply for their licenses without falling victims of corruption and extortion.

He said there was need to strengthen the process to block out systems of corruption and ensure transparency and probity in the application process. CLEEN Foundation, therefore, said to achieve this, the following steps must be taken:

“There is need for greater sensitization on the drivers’ license application process. This is to ensure that potential applicants know the right procedure and do not have to rely on touts and corrupt unofficial agents”, he said.

“There is need to hasten the application process to ensure that unnecessary delays are eliminated. The survey suggests that those who patronize touts do so out of the desire to avoid delays in the official system. Opening up new application centres would assist in this regard.

“Agencies overseeing the drivers’ license application process would benefit from a corruption tracking system which would allow leadership of the agencies to know about incidents of corruption among its officials”.

Mbagwu recommended the Stopthebribes platform (www.stopthebribes.net), which is currently being used by the Nigerian Police Force and said it could be adapted and deployed to track corruption in the drivers’ license application process.

“Information sharing about the experience of citizens in the application process would be highly beneficial in improving transparency in the application system. Experience sharing would also allow others to learn from the experience of others while the authorities could identify loopholes and deploy corrective measures”, Mbagwu quipped.

However, Federal Road Safety Commission in their website outlined the steps in obtaining a licence for the first time. According to the agency, there is the need to attend training at an accredited driving school. Also, that the driving school would then present you to the Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) for a driving test and that after passing the driving test, one then obtain a certificate of proficiency from the VIO.

“Complete the driver's licence application form at the Driver's Licence Centre (DLC), then pay the licence fee online or at the Bank after presenting your application form to the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) Officer and VIO at the DLC for endorsement”

“Proceed to the FRSC Officer at the DLC for biometric data capture and obtain a temporary driver’s licence valid for 60 days before picking up original driver’s licence at the BIR Office after 60 days.”