As Nigeria commenced its vaccination against the lethal coronavirus infection on Friday, Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has said he won’t receive the vaccine even as his colleagues are expected to receive shots of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines in the coming days.
Bello spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
He also said there was nothing medically wrong with him and he won’t allow the people of the state to be used as “guinea pigs”.
Nigeria had on Tuesday received about four million doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine shipped into the country through the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.
Some health workers including the first Nigerian to receive the vaccine on the country’s soil, Dr. Cyprian Ngong of the National Hospital, Abuja, received shots of the vaccines when the exercise was flagged off by the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, on Friday in Abuja.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari, and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo as well as some governors are also expected to receive shots of the vaccines on Saturday to dissipate vaccine hesitancy amongst Nigerians.
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However, Yahaya Bello when speaking on Friday, said, “COVID-19 is not our business in Kogi State. We have more pertinent issues and more pertinent matters that we are attending to in Kogi State. Insecurity we met, we’ve tackled it and several others. Disunity we met on ground and we have united Kogi State today not COVID-19.
“COVID-19 is just a minute aspect of what we are treating or handling in Kogi State; there have been outbreaks of Lassa Fever and Yellow Fever and those were handled without making noise about it.
“The last Yellow Fever (outbreak), we vaccinated our people against Yellow Fever, we encouraged them, we educated them and they felt the impact…If the Federal Government is gracious enough and give us COVID-19 vaccines, we will equally sensitise our people, people who wish to come and take can come and take but I am not going to subject the people of Kogi State to vaccines or vaccination and I will not make them the guinea pigs.
Bello then clarified that he has no problem with the leader of the nation, Muhammadu Buhari, taking the vaccine, terming it as a “welcome development”.
“Mr. President is the leader of this country. I respect him so high; all of us respect him so much. We love him and he is leading by example. If he needs to take the vaccine and he takes it, it is a welcome development,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, I as a person, don’t need to take vaccines. There is nothing wrong with me, I am hale and hearty. I am 100 percent healthy…I won’t take any vaccine.”
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