LAGOS STATE SAFETY COMMISSION BOSS CALLS FOR SAFEGUARD OF HEALTH, SAFETY OF NIGERIAN WORKERS
Written by Olakunle Oke on October 8, 2024
The Director General/CEO of Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, has called for the safeguarding of the health and safety of workers in Nigeria.
He made this call on Tuesday 8 October, 2024, during the on-going three-day Nigerian Artisans and Technicians Conference (NATCO 2024), with the theme “Innovation! Innovation!! Innovation!!! organised by Global Sight Services Limited, in partnership with Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, at the Old Nitel Training School, CAPPA, Oshodi Lagos.
According to the Safety Commission boss, who spoke on the theme, “Enhancing Workplace Safety: Best Practices for the Informal Sector”, the Commission will continue to proactively continue to work with all stakeholders in putting safety systems in place to prevent accidents, and by ensuring that accidents that can lead to injuries and fatalities do not occur. Mr. Mojola disclosed that the International Labour Organisation, ILO estimated that over 395 million accidents occur annually, out of which nearly three million are fatal. These numbers, he noted, underscored the persistent challenges in safeguarding the health and safety of workers, globally and therefore the need for the Commission to take action.
Hear him: “Our role at the Safety Commission is simple: We protect lives. We do this by ensuring that accidents that can lead to injuries and fatalities do not occur.
“The ILO also estimates that 395 million accidents occur annually, out of this, nearly three million are fatal. These numbers underscores the persistent challenges in safeguarding the health and safety of workers, globally and therefore the need for us to take action.
“The Safety Commission will continue to proactively continue to work with all stakeholders in putting Safety systems in place to prevent accidents. Our goal is to ensure that everyone is safe at home, work and at work.”
The Safety Commission helmsman saluted NATCO and its organisers, for organising the 4th edition of the annual Conference, stressing that the Conference’s footprints in Nigeria are very large and significant, spreading across auto technicians, fashion groups, builders group, traders group, and several others.
“It has been an amazing journey for you, and we the Lagos State Safety Commission are proud to associate with you,” he said.
Mr. Mojola later announced the donation of personal protective equipment, PPE, to NATCO, a gesture that was applauded by the participants.
“We need to institute a Culture of Safety in everything we do. We need to seek insurance, use PPE to guard us when working at heights, confined spaces, improved welfare for workers and protect ourselves from musco-skeletal disorders during lifting operations, and of course regular health checks to maintain well-being. For us to succeed, we need leadership commitment and followership participation in areas of safety. We need to imbibe the culture of See it, speak it, and Sort it,” he stated.
