How NCC is Creating Jobs and Providing Essential Services with Emergency Communications Centres

NCC – Emergency situations can happen anytime and anywhere, and they require quick and effective response from the relevant agencies.

In Nigeria, the Emergency Communications Centres (ECC) are designed to provide this vital service to the public, as well as create employment opportunities for many Nigerian youth and professionals.

What are the ECCs and how do they work?

The ECCs are facilities that are being implemented by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in all the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They are reachable on a toll-free number, 112, which is similar to the 911 emergency number in some developed parts of the world.

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The ECCs operate 24/7 to receive calls from individuals who are witnesses or victims of emergency situations, such as fire outbreaks, robbery or violent attacks, domestic and road accidents, health crisis, etc. The ECCs then dispatch the calls to the appropriate 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).

The ECCs use state-of-the-art communications equipment, such as Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, digital radio and Internet-protocol (IP) and geo-location technologies, to enable the call agents to easily identify the location of incidents and communicate with the responders. The three-digit code, 112, was designed to ensure that citizens in emergency situations can easily recall and dial the number.

What are the benefits of the ECCs for Nigeria?

The ECCs are not only providing essential emergency response services to the Nigerian public, but also fulfilling a socio-economic role of creating job opportunities for many Nigerian youth and professionals. As of August 2023, a total of 27 ECCs have been constructed and are fully operational in different state capitals across the country. Four more centres are currently undergoing test-runs to commence services in September 2023, while another set of four are expected to come into operation before the end of the year.

Each of the ECCs has staff members made up of call agents, facility/IT staff, and administrators. The basic salaries of the staff members have been carefully set by the NCC 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 people are currently employed at the 27 operational centres across the country, while more will be employed as the additional eight centres become fully operational by 2024.

The ECCs are also managed by indigenous Nigerian consultants who are engaged to provide total facility and operational management of the centres. This creates more business opportunities for local entrepreneurs and service providers. Furthermore, the ECCs also generate informal business activities for the citizens around their locations, such as food vendors, transporters, security guards, etc.

How can you access the ECCs?

The ECCs are accessible to anyone who has a phone that can dial 112. You do not need to have airtime or data on your phone to call the toll-free number. You can also use any network provider to reach the ECCs. The call agents at the ECCs can speak different languages, such as English, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Pidgin English, etc., to communicate with callers from different regions.

If you witness or experience any emergency situation that requires urgent intervention from any of the response agencies, do not hesitate to call 112 and report it. The ECCs are there to help you and save lives. Remember, every second counts in an emergency.