The Director General and Chief executive officer, National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Dr. Rufus Ebegba, has raised concern over the planed amendment of the Acts establishing the Agency, saying the amendment is planned to kill the desire of our scientists to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country but open the country up for dumping of unauthorized GMOs.
This is even as other stakeholders in the biotechnology industry have also advised against it, saying there is no need for it as amending the Act will kill the deployment of biotechnology in the agricultural sector.
Ebegba raised these concerns during a recent public hearing organized by the National Assembly Senate Committee on Environment, saying any amendment will add no value to the industry and would kill Nigeria Biotechnology sector.
According to him, amending the law means that technology will no longer drive the Nigeria economy.
“This is not necessary, this law is adequate and need no amendment,” he said.
Ebegba further lamented the plan to amend the law without prior notification or knowledge of the executives of the Biosafety agency, saying amendment of the Act would mean that GMO should no more be regulated in Nigeria.
Declaring the hearing open, the deputy chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia said the hearing is necessary as part of the process that leads to the amendment. He said the Senate is doing all it could in the interest of Nigeria.
He also urged stakeholders that they should put the interest of Nigerians first.
Prof. Abdulahil Mustapha, Director General, NABDA in his submission said the amendment is not necessary as it will limit the practice of science in Nigeria. “Nigeria has enacted deliberate policies that positioned science and technology as the engine to drive the economic, so turning around to set up unnecessary roadblocks will limit science from taking us to our destination.”
He urged the Senate to jettison the proposed amendment because it anti people and development.
In a submission, Prof. Mohammed Ishiyaku, Executive Directive, IAR said that the NBMA act 2015 remained the best protection for the proactive modern biotechnology in Nigeria. “Amending the bill now will amount to reversing the gains made since the coming of the law in 2015”.
“The amendment seeks to tight the hands of the scientists and make the practice of science impossible in the country. The amendment will not add value to the practice of science in Nigeria,” he said.
Prof. Celestine Aguoro of tge University of Agriculture Makurdi said the amendment is targeted at driving indigenous Nigerian scientists away from the country as it will end up limiting their scope while frustrating their efforts.
Sharing more light, Prof Chiedozie Egesi, who represented IITA said that the proposal to amend the Biosafety Bill is retrogressive as it will further reverse the progress made in Biotechnology in Nigeria so far.
Dr Andrew Iloh, the representative of the DG/CEO SHESTCO further reiterated the need to terminate any further move towards amending the Biosafety Act 2015.
Lending his voice, the President of the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria, Arc Kabir Ibrahim emphasized that all the farmers in Nigeria are in support of Biotechnology and any attempt that is targeted at limiting the scope of Biotechnology operation in Nigeria should not be welcome.
The AFAN President said that Nigerian farmers needs technology that will lift them out of poverty and that biotechnology is the only solution. The farmer also went further to share his experience with the farming of the biotech beans in Nigeria, PBR Cowpea.
“I have been farming PBR Cowpea since its inception, and I can categorically tell you that the PBR Cowpea is giving me a wonderful experience, I get more than 3 times the yield of the local beans” Kabir concluded.
