By Folorunsho Lateef
Across Nigeria today, vehicle owners are faced with a puzzling and frustrating reality: every year, we are compelled to “renew” documents that should not logically require renewal. Two glaring examples are the Proof of Ownership Certificate and the Factory-Fitted Glass Permit.
Let us start with the Proof of Ownership. By definition, this document affirms that I am the legal owner of my vehicle. Ownership is not an annual event—it is a continuous status until I decide to sell or transfer the ownership of the vehicle. If I have not disposed of the car, why should I be compelled to renew this proof every twelve months? What exactly has changed? This raises the uncomfortable suspicion that such policies are less about regulation and more about generating revenue at the expense of citizens.
The case of the Factory-Fitted Glass Permit is equally baffling. This permit simply acknowledges that certain features of a vehicle—such as air conditioners, radios, or security devices—were installed by the manufacturer. These are permanent features unless the owner physically removes them. Why then should a vehicle owner be forced to pay annually for a feature that is part of the original design of the car? It is like asking a homeowner to pay yearly for the “permit” to have a roof over their head.
In other parts of the world, proof of ownership is established once, at the point of purchase or registration and remains valid until ownership changes hands. Factory-fitted features are documented once and do not require repetitive payments. The Nigerian model, therefore, stands out as both inconvenient and financially burdensome for citizens who are already grappling with rising costs of living, high fuel prices, and multiple taxes.
A government’s duty is to make life easier for its citizens, not to create artificial obstacles that drain their pockets. True reform would mean abolishing these unnecessary annual renewals and replacing them with a system that aligns with global best practices—proof of ownership and factory-fitted permits should be one-off processes, updated only when changes occur.
Until then, many Nigerians will continue to view these policies as nothing more than state-backed extortion—an unfair levy on people for simply owning what they have already paid for.
I therefore urge the authority concerned to drop this idea completely and focus on true dividends of democracy.
Folorunso Lateef (FCA)
Ph.D Research Student at University of Port Harcourt.
