completed his Primary school education at Nigerian Navy Primary School, Ikot Ansa ,Calabar ,Cross River State, he had his secondary school education at Lutheran High School Obot Idim in Ibesikpo Asutan L.G.A Akwa Ibom State and Jubilee College Okokomaiko Lagos State.
He attended the University of Uyo where he obtained the Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Chemical Engineering .In a quest to further, develop himself he proceeded to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron for Maritime training and certifications. He has an MSc in Occupational Health, Safety & Environment from the University of Port Harcourt and has recently concluded his course/research work for a PhD in Occupational Health Safety & Environment from the same university.
He started his career with Tafdev Ltd as an Assistant Safety Officer in Lagos State and has worked with Tomsey Engineering & Services International Limited as a HSE/Process Safety Engineer & Trainer where he honed his skills in HAZOP, Safety Audits, Risk Assessments, Case Studies, Marine Safety, Fire Safety etc.
He has worked with Joint Professional Training & Support International as a HSE Consultant, ExxonMobil Development Company (EMDC) as part of the Nigeria Drilling team and with Prosafety Integrated Services as a HSE Consultant.
He has vast field experience in the onshore/offshore oil & gas industry spanning ports/terminals, jack-up drilling rigs, drilling ships, production platforms, FPSO etc with hands-on competency as a trainer..
He is currently a Safety Health Environment & Security (SHES) Consultant at the Competency Assurance Standards and Technical Training unit of ExxonMobil Nigeria /Elper Oilfield Engineering Ltd and has over 16 International and local safety certificates /Diploma to his credit including NEBOSH , Chartered Institute of Environmental Health ( Uk). Certificates from Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA), International Institute for Risk & Safety Managers (IIRSM) Nigerian Institute of Safety Professionals (now ISPON) , National Registry of Environmental Professionals USA, ISO 45001:2018 , ISO 9001, ISO14001 etc.
He coordinated and got the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NISafetyE) Council approval to establish the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of NiSafetyE in 2017 and became the pioneer Chairman of the Chapter. He moved on to facilitate the establishment of other Chapters across the country.
Over the years, he has advocated for safety and the creation of the Akwa Ibom State Safety Commision, which the bill has gone through public hearing and is at committee level in the House of Assembly where he made a presentation on 9th March 2020.
He has mentored and sponsored youths on various Safety competency development-training programs to get them equipped with the needed skills to get jobs and to create jobs.
He is a COREN Registered Engineer with experience in the Construction, Maritime and Oil/Gas industry.
He is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, a member of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, a member of Institute of Safety Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), a member of the National Registry of Environmental Professionals USA.
He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers
Fellow Institute of Professional Managers and Administrators of Nigeria
Fellow Chartered Institute of Marine Port and Terminal Management Professionals, USA
Fellow Emergency Crisis and Disaster Risk Management Institute
Fellow Professional Leadership Practitioners Institute.
He is a recipient of the Safety Leadership Award by the Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Safety Commission in 2018 and in the year 2019, he was nominated Professional of the Year, an award presented by AfriSAFE an International HSE Organization focused on recognizing Safety innovations and other contributions from professionals in Africa.
He has made presentations in various national and global gatherings of HSE professionals including the Port Harcourt HSE Summit organized by the National Industrial Safety Council of Nigeria in 2019 and at an International conference organized by Institute of Occupational Safety and Health United Kingdom (IOSH) in January 2020.
He has served the Nigerian Society of Engineers in the National Engineering Indices and Infrastructure Score card committee and was additionally tasked to support the Emergency Response /Search & Rescue sub group in 2021.
He has the following published research work in international journals to his credit;
- Influence of Safety Culture on Employee Safety Motivation and Error Behaviour in Selected Petroleum Imdustries in Niger –Delta. July 16th, 2021 published in Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports.
- Assessment of influence of Process Safety culture on employee attitude towards violations in selected petroleum companies in Niger Delta. July 10th, 2021 published in Journal of Scientific Research and Reports.
- Occupational Health and Safety Management in Selected Stone Quarries in Akamkpa Cross River State. Nov 12th2020 published in Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology.
- Assessment of the Operational Readiness and Emergency Response Capability of the Fire Service in Nigeria- Publication in view.
Engr Akaninyene Edet Ekong is currently the National Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers.
He is a Christian and married with kids to a beautiful wife who is an Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologist/ Safety officer.