The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that its Emergency Communications Centres (ECC), have employed over 1200 youths with 27 fully operational centers across the nation.
The Commission in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka on Monday said, additional eight centres are under different stages of completion and would be fully operational by 2024.
According to the statement, the ECCs which are reachable on Toll-Free Number 112, was created to provide succor to individuals, who are witnesses or under distress of emergency, arising from fire outbreaks, robbery or violent attacks, domestic and road accidents, health crisis, to instantly reach response agencies through the toll-free three (3) digit numbers.
The commission added that four more centres are currently undergoing test runs to commence services in September 2023, bringing the total number to 31, while another set of four is expected to come into operations before the end of the year.
The statement reads in part,” the Commission provided technology platforms such as Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems for the respective response agencies such as police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Fire Service, Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ambulance Service, and State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMA) to facilitate the dispatch of emergency calls through the national emergency toll-free number 112.
“The three-digit code was designed to ensure that citizens in emergencies can easily recall the three-digit code, 112, to report emergencies.
“Agents of the ECCs, have been trained, and equipped with state-of-the-art communications equipment, including digital radio and Internet-protocol (IP) and geo-location technologies to enable responders to easily identify the location of incidents for effective and efficient delivery of rescue services to the public.
“Emergency Centre services in Nigeria are available, live, 24 hours as the agents run in shifts to ensure that services are delivered at all times of the day.
“The response agencies, such as the Police with round-the-clock duties to prevent, stop and arrest crimes, are now being provided with additional mobile communications devices, some installed in their offices, to enable them to instantly receive information from call agents at the centres. This is to also ensure that the top echelon of the force is provided instant information for command and control over emergencies or incidents across the country.
“As the ECCs assume more crucial roles in providing emergency communications services to the citizenry, it is also providing additional socio-economic responsibility of providing job opportunities to the citizens as each of the centres have staffs made up of Call agents, Facility/IT Staff, and Administrators.
“The basic salaries of the staff of ECCs, have been carefully set by the Commission, to ensure that the jobs at the centres are attractive for the Nigerian youths, and other categories of employees.
“In effect, more than 1,200 are currently offered employment at the 27 operational centres across the country, while more will be employed as the additional 8 centres under different stages of completion become fully operational by 2024.
“The Centres are also managed by indigenous Nigerian consultants who are engaged to provide total facility and operational management of the centres”.
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