Dr. Rufus Ebegba, Director General (DG) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), has urged the Federal Government to address the issues of energy in the country to foster scientific research.
He said this on Thursday in Abuja at a media chat on his tenure in office.
Ebegba said the issue of energy needed to be addressed so that the research communities would have enough power to power their scientific work.
“Biosafety research is critical. We hope there’s improvement in the funding so that we can do more particularly in the area of surveillance GMOs.
“Nigeria is seen as one of the leading biosafety countries in the world, we are expecting some people from Namibia to understudy what we are doing. Nigeria has the ability to address the issues of biosafety.
“Globally, particularly in Nigeria, there has been a constraint on how to manage the resources in this country by spreading them to other sectors,” he said.
Ebegba appealed for adequate funding for NBMA in order to establish its headquarters where the staff would have a more suitable environment to operate and be more effective in the discharge of its mandate.
“I think the little they have given to us we have been able to do the best we can.”
Ebegba urged Nigerians to eat well and right to prevent some ailments that are threatening the survival of humankind so that less money would be used on drugs.
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“When you eat your health system is also improved.
“Currently, we may have food but with the current distortions in the environment and also in climate change and the youth not willing to go into farming, definitely we are going to have challenges in food production.
“Now I want to advise that the application of modern biotechnology be embraced to produce enough food in the country for food security,” he advised.
The DG urged Nigerians to produce food that Nigerians would eat; that would give balanced nutrition.
“The scientific community needs to work harder for food to be healthier because right now it is what we eat that manifests into various ailments in the area of diabetes.”
On his achievements during the eight years of his tenure, Ebegba said the agency has made giant strides in the area of partnerships with key international partners.
He said: ”11 guidelines have been developed from 2015 till date, and nine relevant regulatory ministries departments and agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding with the agency.”
He commended the media for redeeming the agency’s image whenever they encountered some challenges in the discharge of their mandates.
