Tribune Online
Biosafety agency, police reinforce collaboration on GMOs
THE National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) and the Nigeria Police Force have agreed to strengthen their collaboration to safeguard the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the country.
This was made known when the director-general and chief executive officer of NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, paid a courtesy visit to the new commissioner of police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) command, Bala Ciroma, in Abuja.
Ebegba said he was at the command to acquaint himself with the new commissioner of police and to ensure that “our pre-existing collaboration with the police continues seamlessly to guarantee that our mandate to safeguard the use, handling and transportation of GMOs is carried out effectively.”
He added that the collaboration between NBMA and the Nigeria Police Force comprised joint activities that ensured that illegal GMOs was appropriately confiscated and defaulters legally brought to book as required by the National Biosafety Management Act 2015.
Giving his remarks during the meeting, the commissioner of police gave the assurance that the collaboration between NBMA and the police would be sustained.
He added that it was part of the duty of police to collaborate with regulatory agencies towards ensuring that their mandates were carried out effectively.
“We understand the significance of your agency to Nigeria’s economy and how important your work is to achieving Nigeria’s food security, so we will do as much as possible to assist your responsibilities.
“We will have a better Nigeria when people can go to sleep without hunger,” he said.
NBMA was established in 2015 by an Act of Parliament to ensure adequate level of protection of the transfer, handling and use of genetically modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology, that might have adverse effects on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity taking into account risks to human health, animals, plants and the environment.
Biosafety agency, police reinforce collaboration on GMOs
Tribune Online
Source: Tribune
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