Fed Govt eyes 5 per cent revenue growth from new vehicle registry

The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning has projected a five per cent increase in the nation’s yearly revenue with the newly introduced National Vehicle Registry (VREG).

VREG, it was gathered, would provide more information on the history of any vehicle plying the major cities and roads across the country.

Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Charles Nwodo, at the ministry’s zonal seminar in Lagos at the weekend, said the implementation of VREG would boost government’s revenue

The new initiative, findings have shown, would also enable government agencies to track any stolen vehicle any where.

The Federal Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), last April, commenced moves to create a database for imported vehicles to checkmate import duty evasion and theft.

VREG, according to government sources, would provide solution to the menace of Customs duty evasion, vehicle theft and vehicle-related crimes, as well as ineffective vehicle insurance coverage, among others, owing to the absence of a centralised nationwide vehicle information system.

Nwodo explained that the idea behind the programme is to explain to relevant government agencies on the need to have one window for vehicle registration.

“Today’s event is epoch-making in the sense that it will attract enormous revenue for government it will also help to check the influx of vehicles into the country, especially the stolen ones. If we achieve this, we will be able to track down stolen vehicles. It will also help government and the individual to have the history of any vehicle plying the country’s roads. The government will be able to known if a vehicle is an accidented vehicle. VREG will be able to provide these and many other security details of any vehicle,” he said.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, who also spoke at the event, said about three million vehicles ply the state roads and that a lot of crimes were committed with some of these vehicles.

Oladeinde noted that mist of those who commit’s crimes do not have any fixed address.

“Aside boosting the revenue drive of the state, we also sees it as a way of cubing crime and making sure that Lagosians are safe.

“It would also provide us valid data on how to develop road infrastructures. It would help us harmonize data among various government agencies. Individual agencies have data which we have not been able to harmonize in the interest of the country. Above all, government would know who owns a particular vehicle and what it is use for” he observed.

He started further, that it is important to tell the people about the benefits of having their vehicles registered.