Following the incessant road accidents caused by reckless and untrained drivers, the Ogun State Ministry of Transportation has collaborated with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to fish out drivers with fake licenses.
The Ministry’s Director of Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS), Ademehin Olugboyega, said the collaboration was important in preventing unfit drivers from obtaining licenses through fraudulent certification tests, thereby putting the lives of their passengers at risk.
Olugboyega spoke over the weekend at a seminar with relevant stakeholders, including owners of driving schools, held in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta.
He said, “We discovered that people do not get their driver’s license through the necessary process. We have heard and seen accidents that are caused by human error, and that is why we are calling those processing this license so you can know how to detect fake drivers’ certification tests and confirm the certificate sent to you before printing a driver’s license.”
The VIS boss, who expressed gratitude to everyone for their participation, added that operators have been given a code to validate the authenticity of the document.
“In this meeting, we are dedicated to doing the right thing, and we have given different codes to our operators to be able to check the document online. So anytime from now, we should expect that every driver’s license issued from Ogun State is genuine.”
In his remarks, the FRSC Ogun Sector Commander, Akinwumi Fasakin, expressed joy, stating that the synergy also sought to ensure that applicants are properly trained, tested, and certified before receiving a license.
He argued that the goal is to protect and save residents from self-centered or reckless drivers who lack or disregard the training provided to them.
“It is a thing of joy for me that this event is taking place at this time. I would like us to please key into this project and do it with all fear of God so that none of us will subvert the process, and then we can have proper documentation of drivers on our roads in Ogun State.
“The driving test is being carried out by the VIS, and we want a situation where the certificate issued can be verified. We don’t want a situation where someone would just bring a certificate from somewhere and claim they went to the VIS for testing, but with the synergy we are having together and the code that is given to us now, we can easily verify authentic DTT certificates.”
He disclosed that a task force will be established to supervise and carry out regular checks.
Meanwhile, Daramola Peter, the Southwest Zonal Coordinator for Drivers Testing Service, reiterated that the officers have been given adequate knowledge and information in identifying original documents, warning that anyone caught presenting a fake Driver’s Theory Test (DTT) will face severe consequences.
Peter, who is also the Ogun State coordinator, said, “We discovered that we have some negative people going through the back door trying to do what we call the copy and paste on the certificate and presenting false certificates to the FRSC for capturing.
“Like we said, we don’t want anyone to claim ignorance after today, and we have said that anybody who is caught in the act of presenting a fake DTT result or not going through the proper process of obtaining the certificate, writing the exams, will be seriously sanctioned by the Ministry of Transportation or the Director of Vehicle Inspection Service.”
Ogun partners FRSC to curb fake driver’s license issuance, road accident
