A’Ibom Govt Approves Recruitment Of 100 Safety Officers

By Bassey Nkponam
UYO
The Akwa Ibom government, in recognition of the loopholes in the area of health and safety in the state, has approved the immediate recruitment of 100 health and safety officers into the State Civil Service to help implement safety measures in the different government functions and facilities.
The state governor, Pastor Umo Eno, announced this Friday, while inaugurating the boards of Akwa Ibom State Investment Corporation (AKICORP) and that of Akwa Ibom State Infrastructure and Assets Management and Maintenance Agency, which took place at the State Executive Chambers, Governor’s Office, Uyo, and directed the Head of Civil Service to facilitate the immediate recruitment of the 100 safety officers into the Service.
Eno, who noted that there was need to show safety consciousness in all meetings as well as safety briefings to avert avoidable occurrences, also announced the plans to set up the Health, Safety and Environmental Management Agency, tasked with the responsibility of training individuals on basic safety measures, as “every public building in our state must have a very big elaborate management plan.”
He stressed the need for each state asset to have a safety personnel attached to it and every gathering or event commencing with a safety briefing, as there was need to show safety consciousness in all meetings as well as safety briefings to avert avoidable occurrences.
  “We are setting up the Health, Safety and Environmental Agency. Our health and safety in the state is zero, if you conduct a safety audit, you will be amazed at the gaps you will see. We have lost souls to not observing safety management. We will be approving the appointment of 100health environmentalists into the state civil service. Each state asset must have a safety personnel attached to it. We need to show safety consciousness in our places of work. In every meeting or gatherings, there must be a safety briefing.”
He instructed that the recruitment of safety officers as well as any other category of staff should be all inclusive and not tilted towards any particular tribe or ethnic group in the state, even as such officers should be artisans who are well vested in safety issues.
According to him, the State is one, and any form of recruitment must have a fair representation of the State and most especially on grounds of competence.