A Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, on the regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, and its products thereof, has been signed between the National Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC.
Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba, speaking at the event, which held in the office of the FCCPC in Abuja on Thursday, said that the NBMA is ready to collaborate and synergize with the FCCPC in ensuring the safety and protection of consumers’ health and right and the environment in the release of GMOs.
In a statement issued by the agency’s Head of Media and Communications, Mrs. Gloria Ogbaki, Ebegba was quoted to have said, “The NBMA is always available to work transparently with line ministries, sister agencies and stakeholders, as this will help us in our work at ensuring safety and protection of consumers’ health and their rights. The collaboration with FCCPC today is to ensure transparency and to build the trust of the public to understand that whatever the agency has confirmed safe is safe indeed.
“What we are doing today is in tandem with the programmes and aspirations of the Federal Government to ensure that agencies collaborate to save cost, ensure synergy, ensure effectiveness, transparency and whatever is needed to ensure that operations are smooth and mandates are achieved. Let me also assure you that signing of this MoU today will bring about a greater working relationship between the FCCPC and the NBMA.”
FCCPC Executive Vice Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, commended the NBMA on its collaborative efforts and strategies, stating that this collaboration is very important due to the mandate of both agencies.
Irukera said, “The signing of this MoU has presented itself an opportunity to collaborate and institutionalize framework to cooperate and ensure a robust mechanism for protecting consumers. The FCCPC and the NBMA have mutual roles at ensuring safety of Nigerians and this is the best strategy to ensuring that our mandates are achieved.”
