The National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) has suspended the registration of four new transgenic cotton hybrid varieties in Nigeria, MIC 561 BGII, MIC 563 BGII, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1001, BIOSEED-FIYAH CH1002.
Director-General of the NBMA, Mr. Bello Bawa Bwari, made the disclosure during a press briefing Tuesday in Abuja.
He said the Agency, through its regulatory surveillance and compliance-monitoring mechanisms, identified serious compliance abnormalities in the varieties.
Bawa Bwari states that subsequent verification established that the cotton varieties were registered by the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries on the 26th of March 2027 without the requisite approval of NBMA, as required under the National Biosafety Management Act 2015 (as amended).
The agency further findings confirm that confined field trials and related activities involving these transgenic varieties were conducted without prior authorization, inspection, or regulatory oversight by the Agency.
“At no time did the National Biosafety Management Agency grant any approval for the confined field trials, multi-locational trials, or commercial release of the new GM cotton varieties,” he emphasized.
Bawa Bwari explained that Under the NBMA Act, it is instructive to note that no person or institution is permitted to conduct confined field trials, multi-locational trials, or the commercial release of genetically modified organisms without the explicit approval of NBMA and any action taken outside this framework constitutes a violation of national biosafety regulations.
“In response to these issues highlighted, the Agency has directed the National Committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Crop Varieties, Livestock Breeds and Fisheries to suspend any further action on the registration and release of these varieties pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
