The Lagos government says it will start issuing international driver’s permit effective this month.

The director of the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) in Lagos, Akin-George Fashola, announced this in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Fashola disclosed this while receiving the transport ministry’s permanent secretary, Abdulhafiz Toriola, who was on an official visit to the head office of the VIS at Ojodu, Lagos.

He said all stakeholders had been engaged while finalising the issuing process.

The VIS director explained that issuing international certificates for vehicles and international driver’s permits was in line with global requirements.

He said the permit, as specified in section 326 (U) of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law (TSRL) 2018, included a class or description and an examination of the vehicle.

Mr Fashola also said privately registered vehicles within five years from the date of manufacture would be exempted from the mandatory computerised routine inspection carried out by the VIS.

“The mandatory computerised routine inspection is stated in schedule 1, section 326 (10) of the State’s TSRL, 2018, noting that pre-registration inspections (Auto Vin) would have recorded such vehicles for exemption,” Mr Fashola explained. 

The VIS boss added, “All that will be required from the owners of such vehicles is to get an exemption certificate from the VIS. The exclusion is one of the ways to prevent the computerised vehicle inspection centres across the state from being over-clogged with vehicles.”

(NAN)