The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has formally validated its National Biosafety Guidelines on Gene Editing and has presented it to the public.
The Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the NBMA, Dr Rufus Ebegba while speaking during the validation exercise in Abuja on Wednesday, said the Federal government is poised to drive the economy and the livelihood of the people
He also assured that Nigeria had keyed into science and technology as major drivers of the economy globally, and the need for the Agency to ensure that these technologies were safe and does not have adverse impact on human health and the environment.
He said “we seriously believe that gene editing needs adequate regulation so that products that will be developed will not be harmful to the environment, human health, plants and animals and it is on that note that the need for the amendment of the NBMA act 2015 to include emerging aspects of Biotechnologies in the area of synthetic biology, gene drive, gene editing and Biosecurity where made in 2019.
“The Federal government is very proactive on the issue of this growing technologies that is why Government through the NBMA decided to develop guidelines on one major aspect which is gene editing”.
Dr. Ebegba said the NBMA, working with other sister Agencies has over the months worked on the development of this guideline and it has gone through various internal and external reviews and processes.
“We have subjected this guideline to national and international reviews and even scientists from research institutes reviewed it in a bid to make sure we come up with a robust document that will ensure the proper regulation of gene editing and its products for food and feed processes, confinement, contained use and commercial release.
Programme officer for the Africa Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Mrs. Modupe Adeyemo said with the biosafety legal framework of Nigeria already in place, the focus is to put in place additional regulatory tools to ensure informed, effective and efficient processes.
She said currently, there is no approved policy on the regulation of gene edited products even though the scope of the Biosafety law covers it noting that to address this capacity need, the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) developed a policy document (national guidelines for the regulation of gene editing) which has been subject to series of reviews by key stakeholders.
“This validation meeting is important as it offers the opportunity for us to work together towards creating an enabling legal environment for the regulation of gene editing in Nigeria. We need to create platforms for dialogue that will enable us nurture personal and institutional relationships that are required for a functional biosafety system”.
Mrs. Adeyemo said AUDA-NEPAD ABNE remains committed to forging strategic partnerships that will have a transformative impact on the continent and expressed hope that this validation meeting will contribute to a sustainable and functional biosafety regulatory system in Nigeria.
Head planning research and statistics, Mrs Bello Scholastica gave a brief overview of key sections of the guideline and the Legal Adviser, Mrs Nkiruka Onyilofor Ajah lead the validation process.
Representative from the Federal Ministry of Justice Folatan Olamide moved the motion for the validation and was seconded by representative from the National seed council, Mr Zidafamor E.J.
The document was presented to NBMA’s DG/CEO, who presented it to the public announcing that the guideline has become a public document.
The event had various stakeholders, civil society organizations and the media in attendance.
