BENIN CITY – The Senate is advocating for the establishment of a Nationwide primary emergency telephone number for reporting emergencies to relevant agencies of Government, across all the states of the Federation.
This formed part of discussions at the one-day Public Hearing on the Nigerian Postal Service Act and the Nationwide Toll-Free Emergency Number establishment bill organized by the Senate Committee on Communications headed by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
In her presentation, Senator Tinubu noted that the Toll-Free emergency number will give the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) powers to supervise and ensure compliance.
According to her, the current objectives of NIPOST Bill is to encourage investment, protect rights and interests of service providers, provide postal services to areas that were erstwhile not sustainable, promote small and medium enterprises while engendering innovation, integration and inclusion in keeping up with current trends.
Sponsor of the National Emergency Number Act 2021, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said the Bill seeks to make 112 the Emergency Number of Nigeria to enable citizens have access to quick and timely response to all forms of emergency situations such as road accidents, fire outbreaks, burglary, medical emergencies and so on.
On his part, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, who advocated an independent regulator for the NIPOST Bill, equally called for the establishment of one operational emergency communication centre in each state of the federation.
Pantami said these numbers will be unified unlike the other multiple emergency numbers that has been in existence before now.
The Bill when passed into law will make 112 a uniform Emergency Number throughout the Country.
