Former Inspector General of Police, Alhaji Musiliu Smith, and former Military Governor of Ondo State, Rear Admiral Sunny Olukoya (retd), have been appointed as Governing Board members for the 2018 edition of the Nigeria Safety Award for Excellence Hall of Fame (9jaSAFE Award).
Also on the list of the newly-formed Governing Board are Chief Executive Officer, 9jaSAFE Award, Alhaji Lateef Alebiosu; Head, 9jaSAFE Award 2016 Judging Panel and former President, Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria, Chief Innocent Okunanmiri; and Chief Operating Officer, 9jaSAFE Award, Femi Da-silva.
This is as nominations for this year’s edition of the award, slated for September 14 at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, has commenced.
According to Da-silva, forming a Governing Board for the 9jaSAFE Award became necessary in order to deliver a world-class awards event.
Da-silva, who has been made Secretary of the board, added that the move would afford the organisers the opportunity of taking the message of safety a step higher in the society, showcasing the essence and immense importance of safety in the workplace to the nation at large.
He said: “This is the 4th edition of 9jaSAFE Award. Safety Record newspaper, the organisers of the event, decided to inaugurate a governing board of eminent personalities for the award to reflect how far we have gone with our efforts to reposition the brand.
“This will ensure the brand lives up to its vision of effectively propagating the message of workplace safety and ensuring it percolates into every nook and cranny of our society.”
Expressing optimism that this edition of the award event will be more glamorous, Da-silva said the Governing Board was instituted to add value and to ensure a successful award event outing.
“The role and function of members of the board of governors is to bring value and to ensure a successful award event in this year’s outing,” he added.
Officially announcing the commencement of 2018 nomination process, Da-silva said interested safety professionals and members of the general public can participate in the nomination by visiting the award’s website: www.safetyrecordng.com/awards.
He added that deadline for nomination is two months after the commencement of the process.
Da-silva disclosed that the Nigeria Safety Award for Excellence Hall of Fame was instituted in 2015 to raise safety awareness by recognising outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations towards tackling workplace accidents.
He said: “Safety Record Newspaper, Nigeria’s premier Occupational Safety, Security, Health and Environment newspaper, conceived the award in 2015 to encourage stakeholders to actively work to tackle workplace accidents.
“According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), over 2.3 million fatalities and 300 million accidents causing injuries occur in the workplace globally every year.
“Better put, one worker dies every 15 seconds in the course of their work and more often than not this worker is the breadwinner of their family. These are grim statistics indeed, and Nigeria is not left out.
“We believe that adherence to proper corporate safety processes, enhanced government regulations and enforcement, in addition to aggressive safety advocacy, awareness and enlightenment are required to check this unwholesome trend.
“9jaSAFEAward recognises outstanding contributions to the field of occupational health, security, safety and environment by individuals, companies and professional associations, thereby raising safety awareness and consciousness within the general socio-economic landscape in Nigeria.
“The award is open to any individual/organisation committed to practising health, safety and environment (HSE) management in the workplace in Nigeria.
“The award is an invaluable platform set up to endorse organisations’/individuals’ HSE practice and a means to celebrate success in keeping employees healthy and safe.”
This year’s award is sponsored by Ikeja Electric and Hybrid Group Limited.