The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has urged Federal Government to expand the scope of operators manning the 112 emergency toll free number to further reduce the response time.
The Director-General of FEMA, Abbas Idriss, made the call in a statement issued by the agency’s Head, Public Relations Unit, Nkechi Isa, on Thursday in Abuja.
Mr Idriss, who said that 90 per cent of distress calls came through the 112 number, added that it often resulted in queues, and commended the recent launch of the 5G network by the government.
He stressed the need for Ministries, Parastatals and Department (MDAs) to digitise their systems to ensure the full take off of E-government.
The D-G revealed that FEMA intended to deploy technology in tackling disasters, particularly during flooding.
Mr Idriss said that in 2021, FEMA saved 217 people from various road rescue operations, while 17 lives were fatally injured.
He called on the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to enforce the speed laws to reduce road crashes in the FCT.
He lamented that road crashes had reached an alarming rate due to reckless driving by motorists and appealed to FRSC to enforce the laws on overloading and the wearing of seat belts.
According to the D-G, these laws are critical as they are meant to reduce causalities on our roads.
“At a point where two people are supposed to die, 10 die due to reckless driving, overloading and not wearing seat belts,” he said.
He also decried the absence of fire extinguishers in most vehicles, adding that even where there was one, it was often expired.
NAN
