The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address weaknesses in the country’s emergency response infrastructure, following a failed live demonstration of the national 112 emergency telephone number by an All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign spokesperson.
The party said the incident exposed the need for government to move beyond public announcements and ensure that essential services work reliably when Nigerians need urgent assistance.
The controversy erupted on Tuesday, November 10, during an appearance by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, on Channels Television’s Politics Today, anchored by Seun Okinbaloye.
While discussing the achievements of the Tinubu administration, Hassan identified the 112 emergency line as one of the services introduced to improve public safety and challenged the presenter to dial the number during the live programme.
He explained that the service was designed to connect people facing medical emergencies, security threats, accidents and other distress situations to the appropriate response agencies.
According to him, calls would be directed to emergency communication centres within the caller’s location, where operators would assess the situation and contact the relevant authorities, including ambulance services and the police.
However, the demonstration failed when Okinbaloye dialled 112 several times without getting through. The presenter questioned the functionality of the service, pointing out that other telephone calls were connecting from the same location.
Hassan maintained that the emergency line was operational and suggested that a network problem might have caused the unsuccessful attempts. He also said he had successfully used the number on previous occasions.
The APC spokesperson disclosed that the Federal Government was working on a system that would enable emergency centres to identify callers’ locations through a central dashboard, reducing the need for people to explain where they were during emergencies.
He further said the Abuja emergency communication centre was ready but that President Tinubu wanted other centres across the country to be properly aligned before a full rollout.
Hassan expressed the expectation that the nationwide arrangement would be completed by March 2027, while appealing for more time for the administration to fulfil its promises.
The failed demonstration prompted the NDC to issue a strong response on Wednesday, describing the incident as a national embarrassment and questioning the government’s preparedness to protect citizens during life-threatening situations.
In a statement signed by its National Campaign Council spokesperson, Dr Chiogo Constance Ikokwu, the party said the inability to demonstrate the emergency line’s functionality raised serious concerns about the state of Nigeria’s public safety infrastructure.
The NDC argued that emergency services should not merely exist as government announcements but must be accessible and dependable, particularly when people are confronted with accidents, violent attacks, medical emergencies and other situations requiring immediate intervention.
It also rejected the explanation that the failed calls could have resulted from network problems, insisting that the government should concentrate on resolving operational challenges rather than defending the incident.
The party extended its criticism to other areas of national administration, citing insecurity, poorly equipped hospitals, unreliable public infrastructure, institutional weaknesses and the rising cost of living.
Ikokwu accused the APC-led government of giving excessive attention to protecting its public image instead of addressing difficulties confronting ordinary Nigerians.
The party also urged the ruling APC to prepare to leave office in 2027, expressing confidence that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, would offer a different approach to governance.
However, reports following the broadcast have presented different experiences with the emergency number. While attempts by the television presenter and some media organisations failed, TheCable subsequently reported that its own call connected to the Lagos State Emergency Centre, where an operator answered. An X user also reported successfully reaching the service from Umuahia, Abia State.
These differing outcomes suggest that the incident does not by itself establish that the emergency line is unavailable nationwide, but it has raised questions about the consistency and reliability of access across locations and networks.
The Federal Government had earlier directed agencies, including the Nigerian Communications Commission, Nigeria Police Force, National Emergency Management Agency and Federal Road Safety Corps, to develop an operational roadmap for the nationwide implementation of 112.
The initiative followed the National Economic Council’s approval of the number as Nigeria’s universal toll-free emergency line, intended to provide a common access point for medical, security, fire and other emergency services.
For the NDC, the central issue is whether Nigerians can depend on the service when faced with immediate danger. The party insists that public safety requires functional institutions and a coordinated response system, not assurances made during political discussions.
The controversy has therefore shifted attention from the failed television demonstration to a broader question about the readiness of Nigeria’s emergency response network and the government’s responsibility to make the service dependable.