•By Halimah Olamide
The FCT Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) on Thursday in Abuja unveiled Self-Service Vehicle Registration Portal for a seamless registration of vehicles in the territory.
The Director of DRTS, Dr Abdul-Lateef Bello, said it was no doubt that long before now, motor vehicle registration in the territory had been faced with various challenges.
These challenges, he said, had been largely due to manual procedures and characterised by the unwholesome activities of touts as well as unnecessary administrative procedural traffics.
“The myriads of these challenges with all the attendant systemic distractions on the general output of staff and the image of the DRTS can best be imagined.
“So, having done a comprehensive overview of the prevailing system on assumption of duty, as the Director, in March 2022, it became expedient to review and introduce basic innovations to reposition the directorate for quality service delivery.
This is “particularly with respect to motor vehicle administration in the territory,“ Bello said.
The director said that it was important to note at this particular point that the introduction of technology-based solution, which had proven to be a better solution to all human endeavours, was the only way out.
Bello said based on the prevailing circumstances, the service, however, deemed it necessary to introduce real-time online based internet registration portal for the residents of FCT.
This, he said, also conformed with international best practice which tended to eliminate completely the inadequacies of the prevailing circumstances in the motor vehicle registration in the territory.
“We make bold to assert that the introduction of the self-service vehicle registration portal in the FCT will be a game changer for motor vehicle registration with all the multiplier advantages.“
He said that the system would allow a client to register his or her vehicle from the comfort of their homes in real-time.
The director said it would also go a long way in reducing multiple registration of vehicles and further strengthen the integrity of the data base.
“The system will further reduce unwholesome activities, touting and other human errors to the barest minimum. It will also go a long way in reducing time as well as saving the energy involved.
“The system will no doubt stimulate revenue generation as well as leakages in the system,“ he added.
The director promised that as an agency saddled with the responsibilities of motor vehicle administration in the territory, it was poised to bring to bear every innovation needed to make FCT a trail blazer in vehicle registration.
Earlier, the Minister of FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello, while unveiling the portal, commended the service for leveraging on such a wonderful technology in making the process of vehicle registration very seamless and less stressful.
“This is a very wonderful thing to happen to the residents of FCT. The residents can now access the system, register their vehicles anywhere and at anytime via their electronic devices.
Bello urged the service to come up with more innovations that would make life much better for the residents of the territory, especially in area of adherence to traffic rules and regulations.
The minister was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Olusade Adesola.