The Lagos State Government has announced the implementation of the annual proof of ownership certificate for vehicles, as approved by the Joint Tax Board, JTB.
The JTB had in a communiqué issued at the end of its emergency meeting on 9th May, 2023 adopted and made a resolution that proof of ownership certificate, PoC, be issued to motorists on an annual basis nationwide at the cost of one thousand naira only.
Announcing the implementation at a news briefing in Alausa Ikeja, the Permanent Secretary in the State Ministry of Transportation, Mr Abdulhafiz Toriola explained that the measure would enhance national safety, security, planning, while also ensuring a robust data base of all vehicles across the Country.
He said “This decision among other things is aimed at tracking the real time status and guarantees the integrity of all vehicles registered on the National Vehicle and Identification Scheme (NVIS) database.
For effective security administration, the annual POC is specially printed and is connected with other vehicle documents in the state”
Mr Toriola who listed the benefits of the initiative to include enhanced tracing and recovery of stolen vehicles, which will lead to a decrease in car thefts, noted that the measure would also streamline the attainment of a uniformed licensing scheme.
The Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Lagos State, Commander Babatunde Farinloye who was represented by the Deputy Corps Commander, Tajudeen Mafe, noted that the initiative would ease enforcement of road safety laws and regulations nationwide.
“With this development now, states motor vehicle documents can easily be verified regardless of the issuing state” he said.
A representative of the JTB, Mr. Segun Obayendo who emphasised that Intelligent Transport System must be data-driven, revealed that the vehicles annual proof of ownership process begun about five years ago, and urged other States to quickly implement the process to ensure data harmonisation.