On Monday, the Federal Government inaugurated a Ministerial Committee on COVID-19 Herbal Remedies and Natural Compounds as it makes more effort to find an indigenous cure for the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, who inaugurated the committee at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, he said there was an urgent need to develop a home-grown remedy and vaccine to tackle the virus.
He said COVID-19 remained a threat to the health and wellbeing of Nigerians and the national economy, as he noted that members of the committee include scientists and fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science.
The minister said the team would authenticate claims of cure and herbal remedy for COVID-19 being made by researchers, scientists, and traditional medical practitioners.
Onu urged members of the committee to vigorously scrutinise and evaluate all claims brought before it.
He charged the committee to identify the remedies with the brightest prospects for providing protection and healing to affected persons or those at the risk of contracting the dreaded disease.
“I have no doubt that the discovery of a cure for COVID-19 in Nigeria would enhance the standing of our dear nation in the comity of nations.
“It will also accord Nigerian scientists the deserved recognition and help regenerate foreign exchange earnings for the nation as well as enable a knowledge economy that will facilitate economic growth and sustainable national development,” he said.