By CrossRiverWatch admin
Special Marshals in Calabar have raised the alarm over the increasing number of fake driving licences paraded by drivers in the Cross River State capital.
The Special Marshals, who went round major motor parks on sensitisation campaign against the use of fake driving licences, worn-out tyres and vehicle overloading, noted that the situation had become worrisome because the Federal Road Safety Corps was losing lots of revenue as a result of the ugly trend.
The Cross River State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps had in December 2015 prosecuted 149 road users for being in possession of fake or expired driving licence while plying the highways.
Coordinator of Unit 13 of Special Marshals in Calabar, Chief Emmanuel Ugo, told the PUNCH on Friday after the campaign at the Etim Edem Park along Mary Slessor Avenue in Calabar, that those in possession of the fake driving licence were impatient Nigerians who procured the document through the wrong source.
He said periodic checks by special marshals on vehicles in Calabar have uncovered numerous fake licences being used by drivers.
Ugo said, “The issue of fake driving licence is still on the increase. Unfortunately, the FRSC is losing so much revenue as a result of this. We (special marshals) have observed in the course of our periodical routine checks on vehicles that the trend is on the increase in Calabar. We are out to ensure that the trend does not persist.
“Nigerians are not patient. They run away from the legitimate process of getting the licence. To get a genuine driving licence, it takes some processes that last for 26 days but people would want to skip that and there are lots of touts who are always hanging around issuing offices that are ready to do the fake ones,” he said.
Also speaking, the state Secretary of Special Marshals, Dr. Edmond Essien, said apart from the issue of fake driving licence, the public enlightenment was targeted at warning drivers against overloading and the use of worn-out tyres.
Essien said overloading is one of the major causes of road accidents as drivers who engage in the practice cannot drive effectively.
“We have warned the commercial drivers against the danger of overloading. Apart from destroying the vehicles, it can lead to fatal accidents because it hinders the driver from expressing himself fully while driving,” he said.
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