The Federal Capital Territory Vehicle Inspection Office has come with another 419. It began a “computerised vehicle inspection scheme” on September 1. The scheme, it says, is aimed at detecting faults in vehicles to determine their roadworthiness.
Certainly, the VIO has no business determining vehicles’ roadworthiness in a country plagued by all manner of “tokunbo” vehicles shipped from porous borders. There are no roads in the first place; so which vehicles are worthy to move on dilapidated or crated roads?
Three years ago, the FCTA extorted N2, 000 from every motorist in Abuja for “capturing the biodata” etc of vehicles and their owners. The e-coding chips did not work for one day, and the money (running into billions naira) was not refunded.
Like the “e-coding” chips, the VIO gadgets are not likely to work. Many will simply be extorted and many man-hours will be lost.
How many times shall Nigerians and FCT residents in particular allow themselves to be so cheated? Nobody has gone to court yet.
