Dr Rufus Ebegba, the Director General (DG) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on Tuesday reiterated the agency’s readiness to ensure safety of food and environment in the country.
Ebegba spoke in Abuja at a stakeholders review of draft of the agency’s guidelines and training on stewardship of Genetically Modified (GM) products in Nigeria.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was held in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).
The review is on GM fish, animals, trees and mosquitoes.
Ebegba said that the meeting would drive the processes on issues of biosafety.
“We want to be on top of our issues as an agency,” he reiterated.
The DG said that the issue of biotechnology would continue to gain more grounds in the country.
Similarly, Mr Samuel Timpo, the Principal Programme Officer, African Biosafety Network of Expertise commended NBMA for its activities that was aligned with the African Union.
Timpo commended NBMA for its diversity and team work having deemed it fit to collaborate with stakeholders in all its guidelines review.
He said the agency was transparent in all its decisions on issues of biosafety.
“NBMA has nothing to hide because most of its decisions are posted publicly on its website,” Timpo said.
He said that NBMA is known for integrity and impartiality especially on how its biosafety issues are reviewed.
“They allow African countries to ask questions on the review of guidelines. This shows that they are fair to all,” Timpo said.
He said that the agency is accountable and efficient while commending it for professionalism in handling the issues of biosafety in Africa.
Mrs Bello Scholastica, Head, Planning and Research, NBMA, said that the review of the agency’s guidelines was to prevent any adverse effect on human health, animals, plants and the environment.
Scholastica assured that the meeting would correct errors and capture omissions to enable a robust, complete, accurate guidelines.
She said that the meeting would come out with non – contradictory, practicable, and easy to understand guidelines to be applied by players.
