President Goodluck Jonathan has signed the
National Biosafety Agency Bill into law, the
Director-General of the National
Biotechnology Development Agency, Prof.
Lucy Ogbadu, has said.
In a statement made available to our
correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday, Ogbadu
said the bill was signed into law by the
President on Monday.
She described the signing of the bill into law
as a milestone in the domestication of
modern biotechnology in Nigeria, adding that
this would allow the country to join the
league of nations advanced in the use of this
cutting-edge technology as another window
to boost economic development.
Ogbadu said, “It will create more
employment, boost food production that will
put a smile on the faces of farmers and
alleviate hunger if given good attention by
the government. The National Biosafety Act is
crucial in the management of modern
biotechnology in the country.
“Modern biotechnology has been identified
as an important tool that can help countries
to achieve food sufficiency/food security,
industrial growth, health improvement and
environmental sustainability, while the
Biosafety Act will give the legal framework to
check the activities of modern biotechnology
locally as well as imported GM crops into the
country as well as providing an avenue to
engage Nigerian scientists/experts from
different fields to identify and pursue
solutions to our local challenges.”
She listed the objectives of the law to include
harnessing the potential of modern
biotechnology under a legal regulatory
regime; ensuring environmental, human and
socio-economic safety, while harnessing the
benefits associated with the practice of
modern biotechnology and its outputs; and
exercising the sovereign right over all the
nation’s natural resources and authority to
regulate access to such resources, among
others.

http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/jonathan-signs-biosafety-bill-into-law/