The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has signed a training agreement with Italy based International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) to increase its staff capacity to properly regulate the use of biotechnology in Nigeria.
The agreement, which took effect immediately with a training session, aims to enhance the partnership between both organisations and grant NBMA access to the centre’s e-learning platform to train its employees.
Speaking at the maiden e-learning training, Rufus Ebegba, director general and CEO, NBMA, said that it was important that the capacity of staff that regulates the use of biotechnology in the country be constantly upgraded due to the controversies that trail the technology.
“NBMA was not established to frustrate biotechnology but ensure that Nigerians and the environment are protected against any harmful effect of modern biotechnology,” Ebegba said.
The director general noted that science remained the driver of change globally due to its universality and verifiable nature hence modern biotechnology should not be treated differently.
He acknowledged that every technology has its ups and down but stressed that the biosafety system was introduced to ensure that related uncertainties are either completely eliminated or reduced to the barest minimum.
The CEO was confident that the staff would benefit immensely from the training as it would build the capacity of the staff to holistically understand the biosafety system.
Dennis Ndolo, lead trainer from ICGEB, said that Nigeria remained the leading light in the area of biosafety on the African continent.
Ndolo said that the employees would be introduced to the centre’s e-learning platform where they can use it over time to enhance their knowledge and performances.
