The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has constituted a legal team to thoroughly examine the legality of proof of ownership certificate for vehicles policy of the Federal Government and initiate necessary legal actions, including litigation, to challenge it head-on.
A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Mr. Akorede Habeeb Lawal, on Tuesday, said the association, through its Section on Public Interest Litigation and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has taken a decisive step in response to the recent policy of the Joint Tax Board mandating the yearly renewal of Proof of Ownership Certificates for vehicles.
According to the NBA spokesman, the leadership of NBA-SPIDEL has formed a Legal team, led by Kunle Edun and guided by Ikeazor Akaraiwe (SAN) to look at the legality of the policy and initiate necessary legal action.
The federal government recently introduced a yearly vehicle ownership verification fee of N1,000 for all categories of motorists across the country.
The fee, known as Proof of Ownership Certificate (POC), according to the Federal Government, is aimed at tracking the real time status and the integrity of all vehicles registered on the National Vehicle and Identification Scheme (NVIS) database.
The Federal Government, through the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transportation, Mr Abdulhafiz Toriola said, the policy is in line with the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 as amended, No. 101, Vol. 99; Section 73 (1).
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