Safety professionals in Nigeria have pressed for stricter enforcement of safety standards and wider education to build safer workplaces and communities.
Speaking at the Abuja Safety Summit themed Safe Cities, Sustainable Tomorrow: Pathway to Responsible Development, Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON) president Chief Udezi Stephen said membership of the institute was a legal requirement for anyone practising as a safety professional.
He warned that individuals who breach the ISPON Act face fines of ₦100,000, while organisations employing unregistered safety officers could pay at least ₦500,000. Udezi also emphasised the importance of accrediting training bodies to ensure quality and consistency.
Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund Director-General Oluwaseun Faleye, represented by a senior official, described safety as “a commitment owed to every worker, driver and citizen”. He outlined NSITF’s framework of prevention, compensation and rehabilitation, and urged the use of data-driven systems to anticipate and manage risks.
ISPON Abuja chairperson Ifeoma Okpara said awareness campaigns would extend to rural areas, markets and villages, including in local languages, to embed a safety culture nationwide. Participants agreed that reforms and stronger collaboration were needed to achieve safer cities and workplaces.
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