The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology has tasked the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) on clear labelling of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products.
The committee, during the agency’s 2025 budget defence session on Thursday in Abuja, said clear labelling was in line with global best practices.
Rep. Awaji-Inombek Abiante (PDP-Rivers) insisted that clear labelling of GMO products would enable Nigerians to make informed decisions on what they consume.
“In an advanced environment, you have choices but here in Nigeria, we do not label.
“There is a question mark on Tela Maize so what we are saying is you have to do more research before adaptation.
“You are serving Nigerians what, ordinarily, if they have knowledge about, they would not consume and you are trying to justify it,” he said.
Earlier, the Director-General of the agency, Abdullahi Mustapha, said that 90 per cent of cereals from the United States consumed in Nigeria are all GMOs.
According to the director-general, not all Nigerians reject GMO products as being portrayed by some stakeholders.
He said that the agency’s proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year was N5.3 billion including an overhead cost of N834.4 million and a personnel cost of N14.5 million.
Mr Mustapha said the agency has a staff strength of about 4,000 spread across its 39 centres nationwide.
(NAN)
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