By Saminu Ibrahim
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening workplace safety measures to protect staff, Corps Members, visitors and government property across its formations nationwide.
The scheme said it would sustain efforts to identify occupational hazards, assess risks, prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, protect the environment and ensure compliance with relevant safety standards.
The NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, stated this at the maiden edition of the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Schedule Officers Workshop held in Abuja.
Nafiu, who spoke through the Director of Human Resource Management, Mr Nura Umar, said the workshop’s theme, “Preventing Workplace Hazards and Creating a Safe Environment in All NYSC Formations,” underscored the importance of workplace safety, occupational health and environmental sustainability to effective administration and service delivery.
He urged all NYSC formations to prioritise regular workplace inspections, risk assessments, proper maintenance of safety equipment, fire drills, first-aid preparedness and emergency response procedures.
“We must therefore move beyond reacting to incidents and embrace a proactive safety culture,” he said.
The director-general charged participants to apply the knowledge acquired at the workshop to identify hazards, assess risks and promote continuous safety awareness in their respective formations.
He also urged them to develop clear action plans and demonstrate renewed commitment to ensuring safer and healthier working environments across the scheme.
Earlier, the Director of the General Services Department, Mrs Yetunde Baderinwa, described the workshop as an important step towards establishing a coordinated and sustainable approach to occupational health, safety and environmental management across NYSC formations.
She emphasised that ensuring the safety of NYSC officials, visitors, service providers and other stakeholders was a collective responsibility.
Participants at the workshop included Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Schedule Officers from the 36 state NYSC secretariats and the Federal Capital Territory.
