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Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.

The Government of Delta State, said it has observed with dismay, the rising trend in the use of official number plates by private vehicle owners.

The government described the trend as unwholesome practice and posed serious security threat, saying criminal elements might resort to the use of the plates as a cover to commit crimes and evade unsuspecting law enforcement officers.

A statement signed by the State Director of Information, Mr Dona Obuseh, said that the use of official number plates by private vehicles had resulted in the loss of revenue accruable to the state government from registration and renewal of vehicle documents by unauthorized users in Delta State.

The statement directed that all official number plates allocated to private vehicles should be withdrawn immediately, saying that the state government was working with security agencies to identify and apprehend all private vehicle owners using official number plates in the state, and all those caught would be made to face the law.

According to the statement, all officers allocated government vehicles, upon retirement, should immediate commence change from official number plate to private number plates with allocation papers and other documents from the concerned MDA returned accordingly.

It called on ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to desist from allocating official number plate for use to private vehicles, adding that heads of MDAs should bring the content of this circular to the knowledge of their staff, particularly those saddled with the responsibility of allocating official number plates.

The statement said such officer(s) should subsequently be required to issue new allocation papers to government officers allocated government vehicles, stating contact person (s), name and phone number (s) effective from 2nd October, 2020 for verification/clearance by law enforcement officers, if necessary.