The Federal Government has inaugurated a committee on COVID-19 herbal remedies and natural compounds in a bid to find a home-grown solution to the viral disease.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, who inaugurated the committee, said there was an urgent need to develop a home-grown remedy and vaccine to tackle COVID-19 as it remained a threat to the health of Nigerians and the national economy.
Onu said the committee, made up of eminent scientists and fellows of Nigerian Academy of Science, would authenticate claims by researchers, scientists and traditional medical practitioners of cure and herbal remedy for the deadly virus.
He urged members of the committee to vigorously scrutinize and evaluate all claims brought before it and 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 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”, the minister said.
He said the quest for home-grown remedy for COVID-19 by the ministry was in tandem with President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to diversify the economy.
Onu said the ministry was tirelessly working with all relevant stakeholders, particularly the Federal Ministry of Health, to find a cure to the disease.
