By Augustine Ehikioya
The Federal Government has commenced moves to operationalise 112 as Nigeria’s single, toll-free National Emergency Number, with Vice President Kashim Shettima directing stakeholders to develop a comprehensive roadmap for rollout and NEC endorsement.
The directive was given in Abuja during a National Emergency Number 112 Project Stakeholders Meeting.
NEC had recently approved 112 to replace fragmented and slow response lines, with the goal of eliminating bureaucratic delays and giving citizens easy access to rapid help during fires, accidents, medical crises, or security breaches.
VP Shettima, who chaired the meeting, urged the newly constituted committee to base its work on global best practices and deliver clear Standard Operating Procedures.
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President), he said “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,”
The committee comprises the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and other relevant agencies.
Their mandate is to finalise the roadmap and SOPs for formal endorsement by the National Economic Council, NEC.
IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu said the NPF fully supports the adoption of 112, describing it as “a significant step towards ensuring that citizens have a simple and reliable means of accessing emergency assistance.”
“For a citizen facing an armed attack, accident, fire outbreak, medical emergency, kidnapping, or any other life-threatening situation, while the first challenge is to determine which agency to call, one number should provide access to the appropriate response,” he explained.
In her presentation, Mrs. Lydia Aina, Personal Assistant to the President on e-Governance, Office of the Vice President, said Nigeria’s emergency response currently runs across many agencies and jurisdictions, creating fragmentation.
“The goal is to move from fragmented states through coordinated response to a fully integrated national framework. Our job now is to turn it into an actual working programme with milestones,” she said.
She listed six immediate priorities, with governance — “a clear structure of who’s responsible for what”
