NAN-H-73
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Abuja, June 9, 2017 (NAN) Dr Rufus Ebegba, the Director-General, National Bio-safety Management Agency (NBMA), on Friday warned the citizens not to make provocative comments which could undermine the country’s peace and security.
Ebegba gave the warning when he received a delegation of Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) that paid him a courtesy call in his office in Abuja.
He said that what all Nigerians should fight for was the sustenance of the peace and unity which the country enjoyed.
Ebegba called on all Nigerians to disassociate themselves from any group that would not support the continued peace and unity of the country.
He advised the media to avoid disseminating any information that was capable of inciting one part of the country against another, adding that such unpatriotic act could induce crisis and disunity among the citizens.
Ebegba, however, said that the agency was committed to ensuring peace, while promoting the country’s development and protecting its environment.
“On the agency’s side, I want to assure Nigerians that whatever it will take the agency to contribute to the unity of this country, we will continue to do it.
“The agency will ensure that anything that will harm Nigerians will not be allowed; we will protect Nigerians and the environment of the country.
“We want our people to unite — from the North to the South and other regions — we should join hands to support Nigeria’s peace and unity at all levels so that our country can move forward.
“The agency is working to make sure that Nigerians are safe at work, at home, in the air, on the road and everywhere, as they go about doing their normal activities.’’
Ebegba pledged the agency’s determination to ensure safety in the use of genetically modified foods.
He said that NBMA would also promote a strong advocacy in conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, taking into account the potential risks to human health.
Ebegba said that the agency would ensure that Nigeria became self-reliant in the development and application of biotechnology products and services.
Speaking, Mr Isah Abubakar, the President of NYCN, said that the group’s visit to the agency was to inform Nigerians that the council was not in support of anything that would cause disunity in the country.
Abubakar said that the council was against any move to expel some ethnic groups from certain parts of the country.
He said that the council was making efforts to ensure that peace and unity prevailed in the country.(NAN)
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Edited by David Onilede and Dayo Komolafe