The Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has emphasised the need to maintain the highest standard of safety and health in the workplace, assuring that the Commission will insist on international best practices.
Speaking during the Commission-wide Staff Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Induction Programme at the NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, stressed the importance of staff safety, describing it as a top priority.
Nwelue stated that the Managing Director of the NDDC, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, approved the training because of the importance of workplace safety, noting that safety concerns every category of staff.
“Everyone should be safety conscious. People can lose their lives in the workplace if adequate safety precautions are not taken. Safety should be a compulsory practice in our various workplaces”, he said.
The NDDC Director of Health, Safety and Environment, Mrs Chinyere Umeh, said the HSE Department provides staff with relevant safety information, while emphasising that staff are responsible for applying the knowledge they acquire.
Umeh advised staff to remain safety-conscious at home and in the workplace, noting that safety awareness applies to everyone.
She explained that the induction programme would be sustained through periodic refresher courses designed to reinforce staff knowledge and remind them of appropriate safety practices.
The programme Consultant, Mr Felix Nlerum, stated that about 90 per cent of safety was based on observation, stressing the need for staff to improve their ability to identify potential hazards in their workplace.
Nlerum took participants through the NDDC Health and Safety Policy, office safety awareness, safety meetings, first aid and common workplace hazards. He also emphasised the importance of mental health, describing it as a vital but often overlooked component of workplace safety.
Nlerum also took staff through fire safety and emergency evacuation procedures, noting that fire can be both beneficial and dangerous to humanity, but that fire incidents pose significant hazards in homes and workplaces.
He urged staff to take personal safety seriously, stressing the importance of self-rescue during emergencies.
The consultant advised staff that, regardless of their firefighting training, they should prioritise their safety and evacuate whenever circumstances become unsafe.
He further cautioned staff against re-entering a burning building to retrieve personal belongings after evacuation, stressing that preserving life should remain the primary consideration during emergencies.
