The Lagos State government has assured residents that their safety will be prioritised with necessary engagement with critical stakeholders in this new year.
The government also enjoined citizens to always take proactive safety measures in personal, occupational and business environment.
Olugbenga Oyerinde, Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations spoke at the management retreat held at Poka, Epe, Lagos with the theme: ‘Human Centric Safety Culture’.
The commissioner stated that the estimated population of the State which is over 20 million urgently called for a proactive safety consciousness rather than a reactive one.
He emphasised that safety workers must be strategically positioned towards giving quality service to the people of the State.
According to him, “It is going to be a service delivery per excellent for this year and that is why recently, the fire and rescue service equally had staff engagement and all was in a view to have a change of dynamics for them to ensure there are better improved outcomes for 2024.”
“I believe safety is first and the most important in all we do. We cannot in anyway compromise Safety. The commission deals in safety operations in different sectors of the economy and | therefore challenge them as a member of the emergency responders’ family to take up the challenge of ensuring that loss of human lives is drastically reduced or totally eliminated in any accident or occurrence of Disaster.”
Oyerinde emphasised the pivotal role the safety workers play in realizing the T.H.E.M.E.S + agenda of the state government, while commending the previous efforts of the commission aimed at repositioning the state safety architecture.
Lanre Mojola, Director General, Lagos Safety Commission, said the mandate of the commission to regulate safety related issues prompted the convocation of the retreat which according to him would enable Lagos safety workers discharge their duties optimally.
He stated that the Commission had scaled up its operations in the last four years and would continue to offer quality service delivery to ensure safety at all levels.
Mojola affirmed the commitment of the Commission to expand its operations across the five divisions of the state.
He hinted on the launch of the proposed Occupational Safety Cadre by the state Governor this year.
Sesan Ogundeko, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, in his presentation, stated that the synergy between safety officers and citizens could only be achieved through a Human-Centric approach to work place safety, strong leadership and priority accorded to human safety needs.
He said being human is natural to achieving the goals of any organizations and that the people must be incorporated in the programmes and policies that are measurable and well managed in order to achieve desired results.
