Emergency Communication Centres Creating Job Opportunities, Says NCC

Emma Okonji

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stated that beyond providing essential emergency response services to the Nigerian public, the Emergency Communications Centres (ECC) being implemented by NCC has now provided employment placements for many Nigerian youths and professionals, as well as offering informal business activities to the citizens across the country.

NCC in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said the centres, which are now fully operational in 27 state capitals across the country, are reachable on toll-free number 112 and is operating in a similar design to the 911 emergency numbers in some developed parts of the world.

The ECC centres provide succor to individuals who are witnesses or under distress of emergency, arising from fire outbreaks, robbery or violent attacks, domestic and road accidents, and health crises to instantly reach response agencies through the toll-free number 112.

Four more centres are currently undergoing test runs to commence services in September 2023, bringing the total to 31, while another set of four is expected to come into operation before the end of the year.

According to the statement, “The commission provides technology platforms such as Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems for the respective response agencies such as the 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 emergency situations can easily recall the three-digit code, 112, to report emergency situations.

“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 delivery of rescue services to the public.”

The statement added: “As the ECC assumes 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 has a staff 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.

“More than 1,200 are currently offered employment at the 27 operational centres across the country, while more will be employed as the additional eight 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.”