The Senate on Monday expressed lack of confidence in the ability of the Federal Ministry of Health to effectively store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines when they arrive in the country.
The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and his colleagues expressed their reservation when its leadership met with the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed.
The ministers were in the upper chamber to brief the legislators about the Federal Government’s plans to procure COVID-19 vaccines worth ₦400bn to save the lives of Nigerians.
The Senate President expressed his doubt in the preparedness of the Federal Government to manage the COVID-19 vaccination in the country.
He said the National Assembly was ready to support the funding of adequate vaccines to save Nigerians but that the officials of the Ministry of Health need to convince the Parliament that they have adequate facilities and manpower to protect the preventive substance.
“I have not been convinced with your presentation that we are ready to bring in the vaccines. You have to do much more to convince me that we are ready. This is a matter of life and death. I am not only a doubting Thomas; I’m also a doubting Ahmad.”
Also joined in expressing lack of confidence in the ability of the health ministry to guarantee the safety of the vaccines was the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege.
He said, “I am a doubting Omo Agage also.”
The Health Minister, Ehanihe, however, defended that the country had successfully fight polio, and would use the same storage facilities (cold chains) to store the COVID-19 vaccines.
The Minister urged the Senate to have confidence in the plan for COVID-19 vaccine campaign.
Ehanihe added that about ₦400bn would be required to vaccinate about 70 per cent of Nigerians of 211 million population, at $ per person.
According to him, ₦156bn would be needed in 2021 while ₦200bn in 2022.
