The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s unified national emergency number, in a move aimed at improving response times and strengthening coordination during emergencies across the country.
The decision was taken at the 157th NEC meeting held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, with participation from federal and state government representatives.
As part of the reform, NEC also approved the creation of a multi-agency implementation committee to oversee the rollout of the emergency system. The committee will be coordinated by the Office of the Vice President in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Vice President Shettima explained that the adoption of a single emergency number is intended to eliminate delays caused by bureaucratic fragmentation and ensure faster response in critical situations such as accidents, fires, medical emergencies, insecurity, and natural disasters.
He stressed that citizens in distress need immediate action rather than administrative delays, describing the initiative as a measure of government responsiveness and human-centered governance.
According to him, although emergency numbers already exist in some form, the new policy focuses on improving coordination, public awareness, standard operating procedures, and institutional responsibility to ensure effectiveness nationwide.
Shettima also emphasized the importance of collaboration between federal and state governments in achieving Nigeria’s broader economic and development goals, noting that sustainable progress cannot be achieved by the federal government alone.
He urged NEC members to prioritise decisions that produce tangible results for citizens, stressing that future evaluations of governance will be based on impact rather than the number of meetings held.
During the meeting, NEC also reviewed progress on the rehabilitation of police training institutions across the country through an ad hoc committee led by Governor Peter Mbah.
The council commended the committee’s progress and called for the timely release of funds by the Ministry of Finance to support project implementation, while also urging balanced distribution of training facilities across all geopolitical zones.
