The Interview Editors
As the COVID-19 continues to spread to more states in the country, the National Emergency Number 112 established by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has become operational in more states of the country giving citizens direct access to several agencies of government in one short dial.
The NCC on Thursday provided details of the states and federal agencies that are collaborating with the emergency communication centre as means of curbing the fight against the spread of Coronavirus.
The states and federal government agencies are leveraging the 112 National Emergency Number to come to the direct aide of citizens in distress.
The calls are handled through the Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) established by the Commission across the country.
The centre is the brainchild of NCC to enable easy communication by Nigerians with emergency first responders such as Police, Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Orientation Agency (NOA) among others, by dialing the three-digit toll-free Number 112.
The NCC fast-tracked the execution of the emergency project, whose implementation had hitherto been dragging, in recognition of its mandates to promote and enhance public safety through the use of a particular number, which shall be designed as the universal safety and emergency assistance number for telephone services generally.
So far, the ECCs, with their operational 112 toll-free emergency number, have been implemented in 17 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Aside FCT, beneficiary states of the ECC include Benue, Kwara, Plateau, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers, Imo, Enugu, Anambra and Adamawa.
Efforts are ongoing by the Commission to deploy the ECC facility in other states of the Federation.
Today, the 112 National Emergency Number is fully available in all the aforementioned states and FCT and can be leveraged by Nigerians, as an alternate number to reach first responders at this period of COVID-19 when seeking help and assistance from applicable government response agency during emergencies.
Already, the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, identified the centrality of the 112 number towards handling citizens’ calls for help in this time of Coronavirus pandemic.
Obaseki, in a state-wide broadcast to sensitise the people of the state on the epidemic, urged the people of Edo State to take advantage of 112 three-digit, toll-free number to get help from response agencies in case they want to pass critical information to the government and the State Task Force on COVID-19.
