An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Alwan Hassan, has drawn attention after Nigeria’s national emergency number, 112, reportedly failed to connect during a live television demonstration.
Hassan, a member of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council, had described the emergency service as one of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration before presenter Seun Okinbaloye challenged him to demonstrate how it worked.
APC Chieftain Urges Presenter to Dial 112
During his appearance on Tuesday’s edition of Politics Today, Hassan encouraged the presenter to dial the emergency number, insisting that it connected Nigerians to emergency responders during medical and security emergencies.
Defending the service, Hassan said, “Take your phone and call 112. Nobody knows about this. We used to hear it in America, 911. Call 112 now, put it on the speaker, and they’ll ask you what’s your emergency…Thanks to APC government,”
However, the demonstration reportedly took an unexpected turn when Okinbaloye dialled the number but could not get through.
The presenter expressed surprise at the failed connection, while Hassan suggested that a network problem might have caused the difficulty.
Okinbaloye said, “This number is not working,” while Hassan maintained that the service was operational, claiming he had successfully called it several times.
Hassan Explains Status of Emergency Response Centres
Hassan further explained that emergency calls were expected to be routed to communication centres, which would then contact the relevant emergency responders.
He also disclosed that the Abuja centre was ready but would not be launched until other centres across the country were aligned. He gave March next year as the expected timeline.
When asked about government promises yet to be fulfilled, Hassan responded, “We’ll fulfil them. We’ll fulfil them with time. This is why we’re asking for more time.”
The live television exchange has drawn attention to the availability and operational readiness of Nigeria’s emergency response system, particularly following the failed demonstration.