The Emergency Communication Centres, ECC, across the country will be increased to 35 before the end of the year, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has declared.
Implemented by the NCC, the centres provide essential emergency response services to the Nigerian public.
The commission, in a statement issued on Monday, said the ECC had already been constructed across the country and were fully operational in 27 state capitals.
Four more centres, it was said, were already undergoing test-runs to commence services in September 2023, bringing the total to 31.
The NCC added that four more centres would come into operation before the end of the year, increasing the total number to 35.
The commission explained that the centres could be reached on Toll-Free Number 112, and were operating in similar design like the 911 Emergency Numbers in some developed parts of the world, to provide succour to individuals in dire need of help as a result of cases of fire outbreak, robbery, violent attacks, health crisis, road accident and other cases.
The commission stated that the centres were available live 24 hours of the day as the agents ran in shifts to ensure that services were delivered at all times of the day.
READ ALSO: Debt servicing: We won’t sustain failed economic theory -Tinubu
It emphasized that the response agencies such as the Police with round-the-clock duties to prevent, stop and arrest crimes, were already being provided with additional mobile communications devices with some installed in their offices, to enable them to instantly receive information from call agents at the centres.
The step, it was revealed, was taken to also ensure that the top echelon of the force was provided instant information for command and control over emergency situations or incidents across the country.
NCC said as the ECCs assumed more crucial roles in providing emergency communications services to the citizenry, it was also providing additional socio-economic responsibility of providing job opportunities to the citizens as each of the centres had staff made up of Call agents, Facility/IT Staff, and Administrators.
It stated that the basic salaries of the staff of ECCs had been carefully set by the commission to ensure that the jobs at the centres were attractive for the Nigerian youths, and other categories of employees.
