Not less than 50 laboratory biotechnology researchers of the National Biotechnology Management Agency (NBMA) are being trained on how to manage various organisms without causing danger to themselves, human health, environment and the public.
Director General and Chief Executive Officer of National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Rufus Ebegba, who declared the training session open said it was in line with the mandate of the agency and its responsibility to Nigeria, to expose the researchers in the various laboratories to the details of the biological agents they are handling for the safety of all Nigerians.
He said the training of the scientists was part of the strategy to ensure public safety in its work of genetical modification to advance agriculture and other aspects of human endeavour within the law as he emphasized that genetically modified organisms (GMO) are safe in Nigeria because they are strictly monitored for safety of human, environment and animals.
Ebegba said: “This training is one of them to make sure that the staff of the national diversity management teachers are properly trained to have enough proficiency to be able to carry out their mandate to ensure that full biological agents are contained.
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“I want to assure Nigerians that only genetically modified organisms that are safe will be released. The federal government is doing what needs to be done to make sure that GMOs are safe in Nigeria.”
The participants at the training would be exposed to “Harmful Biological Agents and their impact, Fundamentals of Biosecurity,” and the “National Biosecurity Policy and Action Plan (NBP&P).”
Dr Odonye Dauda who spoke on the harmful biological agents and theiriImpacts emphasized to the participants that “bio-security is a system where the biological agents and the biological material are being controlled, managed to ensure that they do not spread and cause harm to human health, the environment and biodiversity.
“Biological weapons or biological agent as we know, can be used to cause harm and even destroy a nation.
“That is why we have what we call biosecurity to make sure that these things are being controlled, here are experts in the various laboratories being trained on the risks of biological agents and how to manage them for public safety.”
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