Mr Dapo Omolade, a health and safety consultant, has blamed neglect of maritime safety codes by Nigeria for the denial of social benefits and investment opportunities by the international community.
Omolade, the Chief Executive Officer of Hybrid Group, told newsmen in Lagos on Thursday that his firm was out to bridge Occupational Health, Safety, and Environment (OHSE) gap, a main challenge in the maritime sector.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hybrid, a global OHSE firm, inaugurated its Lagos office annex at Ikeja to render services to members of the public.
The consultant said Nigeria would witness standardisation in OHSE management with the advent of Hybrid Group, adding that OHSE entailed practical aspects of environmental protection in work places.
“It is what organisation must do to ensure that their activities do not cause harm to anyone as it involves creating organised efforts and procedure for identifying work place hazards.
“Reducing accidents and exposure to harmful situation and substances also includes training of personnel in accident prevention, emergency response and preparedness in the use of safety equipment,’’ he said.
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According to him, Nigeria’s 2018 International Maritime Organisation (IMO’s) rating among the comity of maritime nations, rattled the managers of port and maritime agencies and organisations.
Omolade said the low ranking of Nigeria by IMO all the time could not be separated from flaws in the handling of OHSE within the Nigeria’s maritime domain.
The consultant said that Hybrid would partner agencies, maritime and oil gas operators to provide global best practices in the sector.
“We will help organisations to develop their policies to measure up with other countries in the scheme of things and in the process bloster the economy,” Omolade said.(NAN)