By Eseoghene Emuke
The Delta State Ministry of Transport says it will partner the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) for the training of civil servants on safety as a critical sector in the safety profession.
This is even as the Nigerian President of the Association, Mrs. Mercy Omoifo-Irefo, said the Ministry of Transport is a critical partner where safety awareness and consciousness needs to be properly engaged because of the attendant risks that are obvious in the sector.
Mrs. Mercy Omoifo-Irefo spoke when he led delegation of ASSP, Nigeria chapter, on an advocacy visit to the Delta State Commissioner for Transport, Engr. Oviemuno Oghoore, in Asaba, the state capital.
The ASSP President to the commissioner that the visit was part of the association’s advocacy for occupational workplace safety as well as creating awareness among critical sectors in the country for the promotion of safety.
She noted that the current executives of the body were focusing, “An attempt to foster and encourage the passing of a bill into law from the national to the state assemblies where SAFETY as a compulsory subject/course shall be included in the schools curricula at all levels i.e from primary to tertiary institutions.
“Safety Publication: This shall be in form of bill boards, flyers, radio and television jingles and production of books that shall be nationally recognized, acceptable and applicable at the different levels of educational institutions, on safety.
“Safety Education and Training: This shall involve the sharing of information on work place safety for all levels of workers by holding seminars, workshops, conferences, talkshops for members of the Ministry where ASSP shall engage their specialized safety professionals directly to the ministry with costumized safety courses to meet their peculiar goals.
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“Career Support or Mentoring: This shall involve a group of retiring professionals with their wealth of experience, arranged to mentor a generation of younger professionals on workplace safety concerns.”
Omoifo-Irefo, therefore, solicited for a synergy between the Ministry and the association which shall enhance the general health standards and well being of all staff in the Ministry.
In his response, the Transport Commissioner, Engr. Oghoore, thanked the visiting members of the ASSP and posited that the importance of work place safety which automatically translates to form part of our daily living cannot be over emphasized.
The commissioner, however, promised to continue to form partnership and establish a relationship between the Ministry and the association to take advantage of the programs of ASSP for the benefit of all members of staff of the Ministry.
The entourage of the President ASSP Nigerian chapter included Chief Sonny Okoh, Princess Ese Ebinum and Tosan Omatseye.
