Fed Govt moves to operationalise 112 nationwide emergency number
Fed Govt moves to operationalise 112 nationwide emergency number
The Federal Government has begun moves to operationalise the 112 national emergency number across the country, directing security, telecommunications and emergency response agencies to develop a comprehensive roadmap for its nationwide rollout.
Vice President Kashim Shettima gave the directive yesterday at a stakeholders’ meeting on the National Emergency Number 112 Project in Abuja, tasking the agencies involved to draw up standard operating procedures for the system in line with global best practices.
The government also constituted 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 to finalise the implementation framework. NigeriaNews Subscription
The roadmap and standard operating procedures are expected to be presented to the National Economic Council (NEC) for formal endorsement.
NEC recently approved 112 as Nigeria’s single universal toll-free emergency number, designed to replace the multiplicity of emergency lines operated by different agencies and provide citizens with faster access to assistance during security incidents, fires, road crashes and medical emergencies.
In a statement, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, quoted Shettima as saying the proposed system must be backed by a clear operational framework capable of translating the NEC decision into an effective nationwide emergency response mechanism.
He charged members of the committee to make measurable progress on the roadmap, assuring them that the Federal Government would provide the resources required to drive the initiative once the implementation framework was clearly 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 a resource to drive the process. And I want to assure you that we will get the resources”, the Vice President said.
Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Rilwan Disu declared the full support of the Nigeria Police Force for the adoption of 112 as the country’s unified national emergency number.
Disu described the initiative, from an operational standpoint, as “a significant step towards ensuring that citizens have a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance”.
According to him, Nigerians caught in emergencies should not have to determine which government agency to contact before receiving assistance.
He said a person confronted by an armed attack, accident, fire outbreak, medical emergency, kidnapping or any other life-threatening situation should be able to dial a single number and be connected to the appropriate response agency.
Earlier, the Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance in the Office of the Vice President, Mrs Lydia Aina, said Nigeria’s existing emergency response architecture cuts across several agencies, systems and jurisdictions, resulting in fragmentation in the receipt, coordination and response to emergencies.
She said the objective of the 112 initiative was to move the country from fragmented emergency systems through coordinated response to a fully integrated national framework.
According to her, making 112 effective would require much more than designating a telephone number, as the government must also establish the institutional arrangements, standards and coordination mechanisms needed to ensure that calls translate into rapid responses.
She said the stakeholders’ meeting was focused on the system behind the emergency number, including “the people, the agencies, the standards that make the number actually work when citizens dial it.”
“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”, Aina said.
Other stakeholders at the meeting pledged the support of their respective agencies for the initiative.
They included the Director-General of NEMA, Mrs Zubaida Umar; Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Shehu Mohammed; and Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, among others.
The Federal Government expects the unified system, when fully operational, to eliminate confusion associated with multiple emergency numbers and create a single point through which distress calls can be routed to the appropriate security, medical, fire or rescue service.
