The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has pledged to strengthen workplace safety measures across its formations to protect staff, corps members, visitors and government property.
This was contained in a statement issued by the NYSC Spokesperson, Caroline Embu on Monday.
According to Embu, the Director-General of NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, said the scheme would intensify efforts to identify occupational hazards, assess risks, prevent workplace injuries and illnesses, protect the environment and comply with relevant safety standards.
Nafiu stated this at the maiden edition of the Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Schedule Officers Workshop in Abuja, themed, “Preventing Workplace Hazards and Creating a Safe Environment in All NYSC Formations.”
Speaking through the Director of Human Resource Management, Mr Nura Umar, the NYSC chief said workplace safety, occupational health and environmental sustainability were essential 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 effective emergency response procedures.
“We must therefore move beyond reacting to incidents and embrace a proactive safety culture,” he said.
Nafiu charged participants to apply the knowledge gained at the workshop to identify hazards, assess risks and promote continuous safety awareness across their respective formations.
He also urged the officers to develop clear action plans and demonstrate renewed commitment to making NYSC workplaces safer and healthier.
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 throughout the scheme.
Baderinwa said protecting NYSC officials, visitors, service providers and other stakeholders was a collective responsibility that required the active involvement of everyone within the organisation.
Participants at the workshop included Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Schedule Officers drawn from the 36 state NYSC secretariats and the Federal Capital Territory.
The workshop is expected to strengthen safety awareness and encourage the adoption of preventive measures to reduce workplace hazards and improve environmental management across NYSC formations.
