Oyo Government Launches Statewide Workplace Safety Campaign

The Oyo State Government has begun a statewide sensitisation and advocacy campaign to improve workplace safety, protect workers’ welfare, and prevent industrial crises.

Speaking at the flag-off in Ibadan on Thursday, Commissioner for Investment, Trade, Cooperatives, and Industry, Adeniyi Adebisi, described the initiative as a proactive effort to engage industries, educate stakeholders, and foster a culture of safety and mutual respect.

“As a responsible and responsive government, we cannot wait for crises before engaging our industries. This exercise allows us to interact with them directly, verify data, understand their challenges, and work together to find solutions that will also boost state revenue,” Adebisi said.

The campaign follows the inauguration of the Industrial Crisis Management Team, which will coordinate safety interventions across the state. Plans are also underway to set up a Quality Control Department in the ministry to ensure locally made products meet national standards.

The monthly outreach will cover industrial hubs across the state, beginning with Ibadan-based industries in the second week of August and Oyo town in the third week as the first pilot location outside the capital.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Olajide Okesade, said visits to companies such as Sumal Foods Limited, Seven-Up Bottling Company, Zartech Limited, and Nisalee Industries Limited would enable direct engagement with management and unions, verify workers’ welfare provisions, and ensure compliance with safety standards.

As part of the ongoing exercise, the team inspected facilities such as staff clinics, canteens, toilets, fire control systems, and first aid units in the visited factories.

The campaign, led by the Industrial Crisis Management Unit, was established after the Oyo State House of Assembly’s November 2024 resolution, following the July 22 incident at Sumal Foods’ “YALE 3” branch in Ibadan.