The Akwa Ibom State Government has begun promoting safety awareness among secondary school students through the establishment of school safety clubs, starting with Community Comprehensive Secondary School, Four Towns, Uyo.
The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Umo Eno on Health, Safety and Environment, Mrs Jayne Ufot, inaugurated the club on Tuesday, October 21, 2026, as part of a school-to-school outreach aimed at equipping students with practical knowledge of hazard identification, accident prevention and emergency response.
Ufot said the initiative was designed to make safety a daily habit among students and develop young people capable of identifying and reporting dangerous situations at school, at home and in their communities.
She explained that members of the club would receive training in hazard identification and reporting, environmental cleanliness, sanitation, basic first aid, emergency response and fire prevention.
Using everyday examples, the governor’s aide told the students that safety awareness did not require complicated procedures but simple actions that could prevent injuries and save lives.
“Safety is looking before crossing the road, not playing with exposed wires, wiping spilled water on the floor, and reporting broken chairs and gas leakages in the laboratory,” she said.
She urged the students to adopt the club’s motto, “Safety Begins With Me,” and understand that preventing accidents was a shared responsibility rather than a duty reserved for teachers and school prefects.
“If you see something unsafe, say something, do something. Safety is everyone’s responsibility, not just teachers or prefects,” Ufot said.
She assured the school of continued support through safety training, the provision of relevant materials and mentoring to ensure that the club remained active beyond its inauguration.
Ufot described Governor Eno as intentional about safety, citing the employment of 100 safety officers to promote compliance across ministries, departments and agencies as evidence of the administration’s efforts to institutionalise safety in the state.
She said the school outreach was intended to extend safety consciousness beyond government establishments by preparing students to become safety ambassadors in their communities.
Also speaking at the event, Mrs Helen Nsikak Ekong, wife of the Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Resources, urged the students to remain alert to dangers in their surroundings and promptly report unsafe conditions both at school and at home.
The school’s principal, Mr Uko Edet Udo, welcomed the initiative, describing the visit as historic and expressing appreciation to Ufot and her team for selecting the school for the programme.
Udo said the school had embraced the initiative by appointing safety prefects and teacher-patrons to support the club’s activities, adding that the programme aligned with the administration’s ARISE Agenda.
Speaking on behalf of the newly appointed safety prefects, Emediong Nse thanked the organisers for introducing the initiative and expressed the students’ readiness to promote safety awareness among their peers.
The event ended with the formal inauguration of the club and the decoration of the appointed safety prefects.
