The Nigerian Senate has strengthened that emergency number 112 being implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) through its Emergency Communication Centres (ECC). In a press release signed by the Director, Public Affairs of NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, at a oneday public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Communications, the Senate President stressed the importance of passing the emergency number bill into the law.
According to the release, the emergency number bill will “ensure a more effective, uniform and well-coordinated national emergency number 112 when it is finally passed into law”. Chairman of the Senate Committee, Oluremi Tinubu, said the bill will establish 112 as the nationwide toll-free number and the primary emergency number in Nigeria.
Senator Odebiyi Akinremi said the bill seeks to make 112 the Emergency Number of Nigeria, stating that “this will enable citizens to have access to quick and timely response in respect of all forms of emergency situations such as road accidents, fire outbreaks, burglary, medical emergencies and so on’’. The Minister of Communications and Digital economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said while NCC had established functional ECCs across 23 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, efforts are in top gear to ensure ECC is established in the remaining 13 states of the Federation for the processing of the emergency calls through the 112 Number.
At the public hearing, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, made a number of valuable recommendations that will make the bill, which he said might be cited as the ‘National Emergency Communication Act, 2021’ when passed into law, more effectual in terms of board composition, scope as well as ability to accommodate emergency services by different statutory and regulatory agencies.