By Joseph Erunke, Abuja

The outgoing Commissioner of Agriculture of the African Union,AU, Ambassador Josefa Sacko, has alleged that international non- governmental organisations are behind the proliferation of Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs in Africa.

The Angolan agronomist and economist said she fought GMOs in the continent but blamed the adoption in some African countries on their rights to sovereignity.

Addressed the media at the 38th Ordinary Session of the AU and General Assembly,Amb. Sacko declared that there are wealthy individuals and groups dolling out resources to promote GMOs in the continent.

She said:”I fought any type of initiative or strategy under my mandate on this debate, we are divided, we are not talking in one voice. Some people they support it because Bill and Melinda Gates have a lot of money to give them, some people don’t, my country we are not on GMO and many countries we are not on that. So it is really a matter of sovereignty.”

“I am leaving my tenure like this because I did not betray my continent, I do not support this GMO, because I want to have scientific basis. Here in this press conference, previously my sister is there, she is a journalist, she asked that question and I told my colleagues from South Grant, open a committee, give this information to Member States to know what are the impacts of this GMO. Africa didn’t have the rate of cancer that we had.”

“When I was a child we knew that cancer was for rich men, not poor men. But today almost everybody has cancer. What are the origins of cancer? It’s what we eat, what we take as a vaccine, even this COVID vaccine, gives a lot of consequences, you cannot produce a vaccine just one day and start injecting it.

“Maybe now that I have retired I will be an activist against the GMO, you can count on it.”

GMOs have been a hot topic in Nigeria since the adoption of Tela Maize, with evident outrage on social media by citizens, and also witnessed at the November 19th public hearing where the the deputy spokesman for the House, Hon. Phillip Agbese and several lawmakers expressed their displeasure at the proliferation of the highly controversial GMOs in country.

Also last week, the Centre for Food Safety and Agricultural Research (CEFSAR) along with other CSOs, called out Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to look into the food security of Nigeria, citing the US-China Economic Review Commission’s report stating concerns of possible attacks through GMOs