WE ARE ECONOMIC AND SAFETY ENABLERS, SAYS NBMA DG, DR EBEGBA
Maryam Aminu
The Director General, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Dr Rufus Ebegba has said that the agency is critical to Nigeria as an economic and safety enablers for the country.
Dr Ebegba made the statement when members of Oru Media & Associates team led by Mr Oru Leonard on Wednesday paid a courtesy visit to the Top Management of National Biosafety Management Agency at Abuja.
The NBMA Boss commended Oru Media and Associates team for the keen interest shown on the agency and for acknowledging the strides the agency is achieving in the face of challenges.
According to him, “The Agency see’s itself as economic and safety enablers, who create safety environment for the implementation and deployment of technology and as well guarantee the safety of products.
He disclosed to the visiting team that the Agency has also drawn an MoU to establish a centre of Excellence with the Federal University of Petroleum Resources for the creating of a department of Biosafety technology with the requisite manpower needs.
Dr Rufus who further said that the Agency has some International partners like the African Union, whose partnership serves as a hub for Biosafety in Africa, also informed the team that he is currently the chairman of African Biosafety Regulators Forum which shows the modest strides the agency has recorded within a short time.
He expressed the agency’s commitment to working towards assuring the Nigerian People of safe technological deployment that confers economic benefits to National in the area of Agricultural productivity and high income for farmers.
The DG noted that the Agency will not fail on its mandate of ensuring that all products and deployment of technology are confirmed safe before they are released for the purposes they are meant for.
He said… “The issue of biosecurity cannot be over emphasized and it requires mechanisms to be put in place to contend harmful Biological Agents so that they will not be maliciously used to cause harm to human health and the environment. With all these safety guidelines, the Agency is working hand in hand with The Federal Ministry Of Environment by developing National Biosafety policy which has been approved by The Federal Executive Council as one of the National policy of biosecurity in Nigeria and in Africa. The policy will go beyond the Federal level down to the state. Lagos State is already playing a major role by reviewing the documents”.
He informed the team of the upcoming National Biosafety Conference scheduled for later this year and said Oru Media & Associates will be involved in planning, publicity and marketing.
Speaking earlier, Mr Oru Leonard, the Team Leader and Managing Partner of Oru Media & Associates, said the visit is to lay a foundation for collaboration with the Agency to ensure success, growth and development of their core mandates.
Mr Oru who is also the Publisher of News Dot Africa, commended the Agency’s efforts at ensuring Biosafety in the deployment of technology and other products in the past years on a very challenging condition and pledged commitment to partner with the agency in the area of adequate publicity for the activities of the agency while also creating further awareness for other businesses of the agency.
About the National Biosafety Management Agency
The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) was established by the National Biosafety Management Agency Act 2015, to provide a regulatory framework to adequately safeguard human health and the environment from potential adverse effects of modern biotechnology and its products such as genetically modified organisms, while harnessing the potentials of modern biotechnology and its derivatives, for the benefit of Nigerians.
