By Kenneth Jukpor
Following the lockdown directive by President Mohammadu Buhari on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr. Boboye Oyeyemi has ordered the shutdown of Driver’s License database in Abuja with immediate effect, in line with the President’s directives to lockdown.
Consequently, the Drivers License Centres will not be able to process licenses for applicants nationwide.
Applicants, however, can go via the By-pass mode to process for the license to be delivered after the lockdown period.
This information was contained in a press release by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, stressing that the shutdown is aimed at sustaining existing endeavours already in place by the Federal Government to curtail further spread of the menace.
He added that the Corps Marshal had in the wake of the pandemic directed all DLCs to maintain maximum hygiene through provision of adequate water, soap and alcohol-based sanitizers at the Centres.
Recall that the Corps Marshal had earlier advised applicants to avoid physical capture at this critical moment when the world is battling a common enemy (COVID-19), and explore the BY-PASS option which is the online processing of the National Drivers License without physical presence of the applicant at the DLCs.
However, the driver’s license will only be collected upon resumption after the lockdown.
While FRSC noted that the By-Pass option is applicable only to applicants who intend to renew their licenses not fresh applicants, it reiterated the development is part of the Corps’ concerted efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic.
Kazeem added that the closure of the DLCs will not affect the Operational formations of the Corps as Operatives have been deployed to render required essential services in collaboration with other security and intelligence agencies at all levels to enforce both the Presidential and State Government’s directives on restriction of movement and sit at home among others.
The Corps Marshal has also notified the Chairman and Secretary of the Joint Tax Board about the effect of the temporary shutdown of the DLCs nationwide.
