Many vehicle owners operating in Enugu State now renew their vehicle papers outside the state to reduce cost.
NEWSNGR investigations show that many motorists patronise neighbouring states like Benue, Ebonyi, Kogi and the Federal Capital Territory. According to them, the amounts Enugu State Internal Revenue Service charges are exorbitant.
Mazi Charles Onodugu is a private car owner. He said he has been renewing his papers in Kogi State for over four years. “The difference between what Enugu charges and that of Kogi for private cars is too wide. Somebody told me what he does, and since then, I have been patronising other states to renew my vehicle papers. I don’t call it economic sabotage. I need to survive. In fact, currently it costs around N35,000 to renew car papers in Enugu State. This is far higher than Kogi, Nasarawa, Benue and Abuja. It takes a phone call to get such papers renewed, and the hard copies delivered via commercial drivers. It saves a lot. I’m not against what is being charged in Enugu State, but the state is losing a lot. Revenues that should naturally accrue to the state are flying to other states. I used N18, 500 to renew my papers as against Enugu’s N35,000.”
A motorcycle owner, Festus Okpanachi, lives in Enugu, but hails from Kogi State. He said, “My plate number bears Kogi. And I can count over hundreds of such in the state. With as low as N5,000, one can obtain a motorcycle plate number from my state. It is genuine. So why spend thousands of naira to obtain plate numbers here when the same costs far less in Kogi, which is not far? I advise Enugu State to cut down on all these charges.”
Christian Oka is a driver in a leading transport company with strong presence in the state. He said, “Check our buses. Ninety percent of them are registered in Benue and Ebonyi states. You can imagine how much Enugu State is losing! Paper renewals and plate number processing are cheaper outside the state. Even keke riders now obtain their vehicle papers outside the state. They are genuine. These are not fake plate numbers and papers.”
On whether vehicles whose papers are obtained outside the state pass through road worthiness checks, Chima Ogbodo, a commercial driver, said, “I doubt if any vehicle undergoes any road worthiness checks before papers are issued. You only need to pay and get cleared, even within this state. Policemen, VIO officials and FRSC operators only check papers and not whether vehicles are rickety or not. So I obtain my complete papers without necessarily driving my car to Ebonyi or Abuja for checks.”
Our correspondent observed that many inter-state commercial drivers are being used to convey vehicle papers and plate numbers processed in other states to Enugu on a daily basis.