- L-R: The NDDC Director, Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue; the NDDC Director, HSE, Mrs Chinyere Umeh; and the NDDC Director II, HSE, Mr Felix Nyong, during the Commission-wide Staff HSE Induction Programme, at the Commission’s Headquarters in Port Harcourt
By Emmanuel Thomas l Tuesday, Sept 29, 2026
PORT HARCOURT — The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the highest standards of occupational health and safety across its operations, assuring stakeholders that it will continue to enforce international best practices.
Speaking at the Commission-wide Staff Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Induction Programme held at the NDDC Headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, stated that employee well-being remains a top institutional priority.
Sir Nwelue disclosed that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, approved the comprehensive training program due to the critical role workplace safety plays in organizational sustainability and productivity.
”Everyone should be safety conscious. People can lose their lives in the workplace if adequate safety precautions are not taken. Safety should be a compulsory practice in our various workplaces,” Nwelue emphasized.
Echoing these sentiments, the NDDC Director of Health, Safety, and Environment, Mrs. Chinyere Umeh, highlighted that while the HSE Department equips personnel with vital safety information, individual employees bear the responsibility of putting that knowledge into daily practice.
Mrs. Umeh urged staff members to remain safety-conscious both at work and in their domestic environments. She confirmed that the induction initiative would be sustained through periodic refresher courses to reinforce safety protocols and maintain active risk awareness across all cadres.
Delivering the technical sessions, the Lead Consultant, Mr. Felix Nlerum, noted that roughly 90 percent of safety management relies on observation.
He urged participants to sharpen their ability to identify potential hazards within their immediate work environments.
Mr. Nlerum guided staff through key elements of the NDDC Health and Safety Policy, including:
Workplace Hazard Management: Identifying standard office risks and proactive mitigation steps.
Mental Health Awareness: Addressing psychological well-being as an essential component of overall health and safety.
Fire Safety & Self-Rescue: Understanding emergency evacuation protocols and prioritizing swift, safe egress over property retrieval.
First Aid & Incident Response: Managing basic medical interventions during workplace emergencies.
Nlerum cautioned personnel against taking unnecessary risks during emergencies, stressing that personal safety and life preservation must take precedence over fighting fires or attempting to retrieve personal items from hazardous areas.