By our Correspondent
The Federal Government has moved to operationalise Nigeria’s 112 national emergency number, directing relevant agencies and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive roadmap for its nationwide rollout.
Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the directive on Tuesday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project, stressing the need for decisions to be guided by global best practices and translated into a clear implementation framework.
In a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, the government said a committee comprising the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other relevant agencies had been constituted to finalise the roadmap and standard operating procedures for formal endorsement by the National Economic Council (NEC).
The NEC had recently approved 112 as Nigeria’s single universal toll-free emergency number, replacing fragmented emergency response lines and providing citizens with a simpler channel for accessing urgent assistance during fires, road accidents, medical emergencies, security incidents and other life-threatening situations.
Charging the committee to accelerate its work, Shettima said the government would provide the resources required to drive implementation once a clear and workable framework was established.
“Let’s make progress so that whatever time we have spent here is worth spending. And most importantly, the engine is finance. It is resources to drive the process. And I want to assure you that we will get the resources,” he said.
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, said the Nigeria Police Force fully supported the adoption of 112 as the country’s unified emergency number.
He described the initiative as a significant step towards providing citizens with a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance.
The police chief noted that citizens confronted with armed attacks, accidents, fire outbreaks, medical emergencies, kidnapping or other life-threatening situations should not have to determine which agency to contact before receiving assistance.
“Instead of citizens having to know which agency to call, one number should provide access to the appropriate response,” he said.
Earlier, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice President, Mrs. Lydia Aina, said Nigeria’s emergency response system was currently spread across multiple agencies, systems and jurisdictions, resulting in fragmentation in the way emergencies are received, coordinated and addressed.
She said the objective was to transition from fragmented state-level systems to a coordinated and ultimately integrated national emergency response framework.
According to Aina, the initiative goes beyond establishing a telephone number to building the institutional architecture required to make 112 effective.
“Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones. So, we have identified six immediate priorities. First, governance. We need a clear structure of who’s responsible for what,” she said.
Other stakeholders who pledged the support of their respective agencies included NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida; Director-General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar; Corps Marshal of FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, among others.
The nationwide operationalisation of 112 is expected to strengthen inter-agency coordination, reduce delays in emergency response and provide Nigerians with a single, accessible gateway to critical emergency services. (GSF)