By EricJames Ochigbo
Experts have called for the repeal and reenactment of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) Act (2015) to address flaws and critical gaps in the Act.
The experts made the call on Monday at the National Conference on Biosafety and Agroecology in Nigeria tagged, “Hunger Politics: Exposing the Underlying Causes of Hunger” in Abuja on Monday.
The experts called on the National Assembly to speedily repeal the Act to secure Nigeria’s food sovereignty and protect Nigerians against health end environmental implementations of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
In his remarks, the Executive Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) Dr Nnimmo Bassey pointed out critical gaps in the Act.
According to him, they include the absence of provision on strict liability and redress which mandates that the biotechnology corporations take responsibility for immediate and future negative impacts of use of GMO products as is the case in similar Acts in other jurisdictions.
He said other areas of concern include lack of access to information, poor public consultation and participation, weak provisions on appeals and reviews, as well as lack of veritable provisions for the enforcement of the precautionary principle and decision making.
The executive director said that the NBMA Act confers enormous discretionary powers on the agency and gives little room for oversight.
He said that another critical flaw in the regulatory framework is the presence of a major promoter and developer of GMOs on the board of the NBMA.
According to him, this conflict of interest inherent in the NBMA raises serious red flags about the administration of biosafety.
He said that the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA) currently sits on the board of the NBMA which reflects best practices.
“The NBMA Act needs to be repealed and redesigned to close the existing gap, including by ensuring public participation and transparency, accountability, independent scientific assessments,and precautionary decision-making.
Bassey alleged that new GMO products were register and released on March 26, 2026 without the notice and approval of the NBMA as required under the Act as amended in 2019).
He said that the registration and release disregarded regulatory procedure saying that it also suggests that several other GMOs may have been released into the country unnoticed.
The executive director recalled that in May 2024, the House of Representatives recommended a halt in approvals of GMOs and an investigation into the approval processes.
He recalled that the green chamber followed up with a public hearing where scientists and researchers, CSOs, legal practitioners, farmers and other stakeholders openly rejected GMOs.
He said that the stakeholders highlighted key issues including the risks of losing Nigeria’s indigenous crop varieties, loss of farmers rights over seeds, soil degradation and more.
According to him, since then, there is no update on whether the investigation was done or what the outcome was if the research was conducted.
“The Nigerian public demands a definite decision by the Nigerian legislative and executive arm of government regarding GMOs. We cannot afford to play politics with food or with human life; we cannot afford to stay on the fence regarding GMOs in our food system,” he said.
Also speaking Prof. Jihnson Ekpere said that GMO is nominal and disastrous to human and environmental health.
He said that there need to inform consumers of GMO products that it is poisonous and that sooner or later, they will die.
The professor said that Nigeria could achieve food security through the practice of agro ecology saying that GMO was not the way to go.
He said that biotechnology could provide minimum advantages in none food sector but agro ecology was the way to go to achieve food security.
Agro ecology is a system of farming that aligns witjh nature to produce healthy food while protecting the land, supporting farmers, and connecting producers and consumers.