Ogun State plans to launch a Safety Commission and roll out a sweeping industrial safety audit across the state to boost workplace protection and support long-term industrial expansion, the government has announced.
Ola Oresanya, the commissioner for environment, revealed the strategy at a training workshop for safety staff in Abeokuta this week. The event brought together safety experts from across the state's industrial sector.
The government will upgrade its existing Safety Office into a fully-fledged Ogun State Safety Commission, Oresanya explained. This move aims to establish sharper regulatory systems that can enhance policy delivery, provide better technical guidance, enforce compliance more effectively and strengthen ties with industry players.
Recent inspections and audits by the ministry uncovered a troubling disconnect. Many companies have safety procedures documented but don't follow them in practice, he said.
According to Oresanya, organisations often treat safety as something to comply with during inspections rather than embed into their daily operations. He stressed that the audit programme will not punish firms but instead help them spot risks and set clear safety targets.
Every industrial facility in the state should adopt measurable safety standards and treat safety as a core business metric alongside output and profit margins, Oresanya insisted. Safety officers have a crucial role to play as leaders within their organisations, he added.
"Safety officers must see themselves as agents of change whose choices determine whether workers get home safely," he told the workshop participants. He called for stronger teamwork between government, employers and workers to protect lives and preserve investments.
Oresanya opened the workshop and urged participants to create practical safety improvement blueprints. These plans, he said, should guide continuous workplace safety progress across Ogun.
