By AISHA COLE

The Lagos State Government has announced its implementation of the annual Proof of Ownership (PoC) certificate for vehicles, as approved by the Joint Tax Board (JTB).

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr Abdulhafiz Toriola, made the announcement at a news briefing in Ikeja, on Tuesday.

Toriola said that the PoC was one of the components that verified ownership of vehicles and ensured compliance with legal or regulatory requirements.

He said that the Initiative aims to streamline and enhance the process of vehicle ownership verification.

According to him, the implementation is in line with legal requirements fundamental to transparency, security and accountability within transportation network.

The initiative is in accordance with the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 as amended, No. 101, Vol. 99; Section 73- (1) which states that ˜There shall be Proof of Ownership Certificate for all registered Vehicles.

Section 73- (1-6) also adds that ˜The commission shall establish and maintain a Central Data Base for Vehicles and drivers for the federation.

To this end, the Federal Government has introduced the issuance of annual Proof of Ownership Certificate for all registered vehicles.

This certificate will serve as official documentation of a vehicles legal owner, upon successful completion of the necessary requirements and procedures, Toriola said.

He said that the PoC would contain vital information including the vehicles registration details, such as, licence number plate, model, year of manufacture, in addition to owners name and address.

Toriola said that PoC would be issued to motorists on an annual basis nationwide.

The permanent secretary said that for effective security administration, the annual certificate was specially printed and connected with other vehicle documents in the state.

We believe that the PoC will help track the real time status and guarantee the integrity of all vehicles registered on the National Vehicle and Identification Scheme (NVIS) database, Toriola said.

He said that the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had approved its commencement in Lagos State, hence the news conference to enlighten the public.

Toriola urged the media to help in cascading the information down to the people in Lagos State for acceptance, as it was with other states of the federation.

The Lagos Sector Commander Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr Babatunde Farinloye, represented by Deputy Corps Commander in charge of Logistics, Mr Tajudeen Mafe, said that FRSC was empowered by law to implement government policies.

Farinloye said that it was incumbent on the FRSC to enforce, regulate and coordinate road safety transport management.

He said that the data base that would be generated by the certificate would enhance national security.

The representative of Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA), Mrs Mrs Olabisi Olowolagba, said that the agency, which is in charged with generating data for the state, was happy with the Introduction of PoC.

She said that the PoC was desirable to aid security, and the MVAA would ensure its success.

The representative of Joint Tax Board (JTB), Mr Segun Obayendo, emphasised on the benefit of POC, saying that it helped with the statistics of vehicular population nationwide, which could easily be obtained.

Obayendo said that PoC would provide solution to minimise car theft and recovery of stolen vehicles.

According to him, it would streamline the fulfilment of uniform licensing scheme mandate.

State motor vehicle document can easily be verified regardless of the issuing state, as well as safety and security of vehicles and other owners.

The POC will enhance National Vehicle data for national security, for planing and economic development, he said. (NAN)