The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, has assured Nigerians that genetically modified foods (GMOs) are not harmful when proper safety checks are in place.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Adeyeye said GMOs are safe for human consumption, depending on how they are produced and tested.
“GMOs are not bad for us, depending on what type of food they are and if the right safety measures have been taken,” she said.
Her statement comes amid growing concerns from civil society groups and farmers over the introduction of genetically modified crops like maize and cowpea in Nigeria.
Adeyeye highlighted the role of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) in ensuring safety, saying NAFDAC works closely with them to assess GMO foods before approval.
“We cannot approve any GMO food unless the NBMA confirms that all safety tests have been carried out,” she added.
She also emphasised the importance of proper food labelling, saying consumers should be able to identify if a product contains GMOs. “When shopping, I always check for the NAFDAC label and if it is genetically modified,” she said.
Adeyeye also spoke about NAFDAC’s recent shutdown of illegal drug markets in Lagos (Idumota), Aba, and Onitsha. She said the markets were known for selling expired, banned, or fake medicines, and the enforcement operation was necessary to protect public health.
“These markets have been there for years. Some traders had formed cabals revalidating expired drugs and selling low-quality products,” she said.
The enforcement, which involved over 1,300 security agents from the police, DSS, and military, was described by Adeyeye as a “war-like” operation. She noted that after inspections, only compliant stores were allowed to reopen.
She added that NAFDAC’s long-term goal is to move drug sellers into regulated Coordinated Wholesale Centres (CWCs) like the one in Kano, where safety and quality can be better controlled.
