The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has at least 1,500 telephone users have, through 122, called the Commission’s Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) in the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.
Danbatta said this during the commissioning of the ECC in Owerri, Imo State, over the weekend by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
Danbatta, said, “During the total lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ECCs played a remarkable role by providing a platform for members of the public to seek lifesaving information or support and reporting COVID-19 related cases by dialling ‘112’ from any of the networks. I am happy to report to you that over 1,500 COVID-19-related calls were received and processed by the ECCs in the peak of the pandemic.”
He said the ECC project, equipped with necessary Information Technology (IT) tools and personnel, was a one-stop shop through which members of the public can access help from any response agency, stating that the centre is essentially aimed at enhancing the security of lives and property of the citizens.
The response agencies, he said included the Nigeria Police (NPF), the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Fire and Ambulance Services, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and all its affiliate State Emergency Management Agencies, among others.
Danbatta said, “We have no doubt that, if put to maximum use, and kept functional at all times, the ECC facilities will serve to complement the State Government’s efforts at enhancing the security of lives and property of citizens.”
