ISPON President Calls for Collaboration to Improve Safety Culture

Chinedu Eze

Dr. Stephen Udezi, President of the Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), urged stronger cooperation between government and the private sector to enhance safety culture across Nigerian industries and organisations.

Udezi said that improved collaboration would lead to a marked decline in preventable deaths and environmental safety hazards in the country.

Speaking at a conference in Lagos before ISPON’s 12th anniversary celebration in Warri, Delta State, the theme of the event was “Health and Safety Management in Nigeria, Prospects and Retrospects.” Udezi highlighted that a weak safety culture and the work of unqualified practitioners are major contributors to accidents in both industrial and community settings.

He called on state governments to establish safety commissions modeled after the Lagos State initiative and to involve ISPON in accident investigations nationwide, thereby improving data collection and prevention strategies.

Udezi also advocated for safety education from kindergarten through secondary school, arguing that early training in safety awareness would produce more responsible citizens, reduce vandalism, unsafe transport practices, and workplace accidents.

He urged broader collaboration with artisans’ associations, higher education institutions, and media organisations to bring safety campaigns directly to markets, workshops, and communities across the country.

Also speaking, Mr. Olusola Ogunleye, Lagos State Chairman of ISPON, noted that the partnership between the institute and the Lagos State Safety Commission has significantly strengthened safety enforcement and professional standards in key sectors of the state.

Ogunleye said that the anniversary celebrations, supported by ISPON’s governing board and the ISPON Act of 2014, have resolved prior disagreements between the bodies and created a united front for safety regulation in Lagos.