NAN-AE-5
GMOs
By Ebere Agozie
Abuja, Feb. 10, 2017 (NAN) Dr Rufus Ebegba, Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) says the agency’s responsibility of safe deployment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s ) in the country will not be compromised.
Ebegba made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
He was speaking at a colloquium organised by the Catholic secretariat in conjunction with the Open Forum of Agricultural Biotechnology (OFAB).
“The agency is committed to safe guard the health of Nigerians in the practice of modern biotechnology and the use of genetically modified organisms.
“Our responsibility is not to stop GMOs in Nigeria but to ensure that it is safe and does not pose any adverse effect to humans and the environment in accordance with the national biosafety management.
According to him, the world is being driven by science and technology and Nigeria cannot shy away from the deployment of safe science and technology to solve problems affecting the nation.
He said that the Federal Government had taken necessary measures after due legislative processes to establish the NBMA.
“ The agency is manned by competent and qualified scientists who are rated as some of the best when compared to their counterparts across the continent.
“We, therefore, have the requisite knowledge and experience to effectively regulate the technology in the country.
“Nigeria as a country has taken the necessary legal precautionary measures to ensure that the health of the citizens and environment are not jeopardised by the introduction of genetically modified organisms.’’
Ebegba explained that the agency had established a modern GMOs “Detection and Analysis Laboratory’’ as part of the efforts to ensure safety of Nigerians.
He, therefore, enjoined Nigeria-based scientists, Federal-based organisations and the general public to continue to rely on government to protect and safeguard their health.
=======Edited by Morayo Omolade