After concerns were raised by many Nigerians about the safety of genetically modified foods, the Director General of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Agnes Asagbra, has said that the government is closely monitoring and regulating biotechnology to keep Nigerians safe.

Asagbra spoke on Channels TV’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, saying that the government is working to ensure that genetically modified foods are safe for Nigerians.

“The government realises the importance of having modern biotechnology regulated and our mandate is to regulate modern biotechnology, thereby ensuring the safety of the Nigerian populace, the animals, the plant and the environment, and therefore this is of the essence,” she said.

Asagbra said there is a need to properly regulate the use of biotechnology to protect the health of people, the environment, and Nigeria’s biodiversity.

She said, “Over the years, we have been able to make sure that any GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) that has been approved in Nigeria has undergone rigorous scientific analysis.

“These are all under the international standard. We have the Cartagena Protocol under the Convention of Biodiversity, and we also have to use the Codex Alimentarius of the WHO (World Health Organisation) standard.

“All these are regulations, all these are standards that have to be made before a GMO can be approved.”

Asagbra also said part of her agency’s mandate is to go to the supermarkets to make sure that any genetically modified product that comes into the country is labelled. She said her agency is working with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on the appropriate labelling of products by manufacturers. (Channels TV)