The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a unified emergency contact number for use across all levels of government and relevant agencies in a bid to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency response system and improve coordination during crises.
The decision was reached at the 157th meeting of NEC held virtually on Thursday and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
As part of the resolution, Council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee and programme coordination to be led by the Office of the Vice President in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission.
Speaking during the meeting, Shettima said the move became necessary to eliminate delays often caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks during emergencies, stressing that Nigerians need urgent response and not red tape in moments of distress.
“This is not only a technical reform. It is a test of the state’s humanity. In moments of fire, accident, robbery, medical emergency, flood, violence, or panic, citizens do not need bureaucracy.
“They need response. They need to know one number to call, one system to trust, and one coordinated chain of action that moves quickly enough to save lives,” the Vice President stated.
He noted that while Nigeria is not starting from scratch because an emergency contact system already exists, the major challenge remains coordination, adoption, standard operating procedures, public awareness, institutional ownership, and public trust.
According to him, the reform aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and is expected to improve service delivery while strengthening public safety nationwide.
“We cannot build our way to a one-trillion-dollar economy by federal effort alone. We cannot create millions of jobs by speeches alone. We cannot expand exports, attract investment, secure communities, or unlock productivity unless every tier of government understands its role and performs it with urgency,” Shettima added.
He urged members of Council to focus on policies that would directly improve the lives of Nigerians.
“History will not ask how many meetings we held. It will ask what changed because we met.
“It will ask whether our decisions reached the farmer, the manufacturer, the artist, the investor, the accident victim, the unemployed graduate, and the child waiting to inherit the country we are rebuilding,” he said.
NEC also received a presentation on the rehabilitation of police training institutions nationwide from its ad hoc committee led by Peter Mbah and commended the committee for progress made so far.
The Council further directed the Ministry of Finance to expedite the release of the balance of approved funds for the take-off of the project and urged the committee to ensure national spread by capturing training institutions across all geopolitical zones in the first phase of implementation.