NBMA DG says collaboration necessary in GMO’s assessment

Dr. Rufus Ebegba, the Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency says collaboration is necessary in the assessment of the Genetically Modified Organisms.
Ebegba made this known when declaring open a four-day workshop on Monday in Abuja on: “Risk Analysis for the General Release of GMOs.”
The workshop was organised in conjunction with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
The participants were representatives from Australia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania among other countries.
Ebegba said that the impressive attendance at the workshop attested to the fact that Africa needs the necessary collaboration in the harmonization of GMO’s.
Ebegba said: “The workshop is to encourage and build enough capacity among Africans to be able to handle Genetically Modified foods effectively.
“Although we are relatively new in this area, we are nevertheless very vibrant and are giving Nigeria and Africa hope in analyzing the risks and safety measures involved for the general release of GOM’s into the markets.
“The interest of Nigerians is paramount and the agency is there to protect it; so the agency is working round the clock and with relevant agencies to keep Nigeria safe.”
Earlier, Dr. Lucy Ogbadu of the National Biotechnology Development Agency said that wide publicity should be carried out to create awareness on the proper status of GMOs.
Ogbadu said: “We must make sure this GMO is given enough publicity and Africans are directly involved, so we need assessment and reassessment to be on top of the issue.
“Some people want the public to believe that the genetically modified foods are dangerous and that we don’t have the expertise and capacity to handle it. But this is far from the truth.
“It is for this reason that I am happy that this workshop is taking place and it means that things cannot be produced and forced down our throat because all relevant agencies and experts are working together.”