COVID-19: How Nigeria can vaccinate its over 200m population, by Lawan

By Sanni Onogu, Abuja

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Wednesday, said for Nigeria to provide ‘herd immunity’ for its over two hundred million population, efforts must be made by the Federal Government to collaborate with international bodies to develop and produce a vaccine for the purpose.

Lawan said the project to develop a vaccine must deploy resources specifically meant to provide the needed environment for Nigerian scientists resident abroad to come up with a vaccine that would serve not only Nigeria’s population but of other developing countries.

The Senate President made this known during the Public Presentation of a Research Work on the Legislative Efforts and Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic by the Young Parliamentarians Forum in collaboration with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Abuja.

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Lawan recalled the efforts by the National Assembly and State Assemblies in coming up with legislative interventions such as the economic stimulus package to help cushion the effect of the lockdown caused by the pandemic.

He added that such legislative interventions have subsequently extended to long-term legislative proposals that would address the inadequate number of health facilities across the country.

Lawan said: “The legislature was also forthcoming in supporting the executive arm, in formulating policies to cushion the effect of the contagion, particularly because of lockdown, and the attendant adverse effect on personal and public incomes.

“Talking of public incomes, we know what the National Assembly did, particularly to support the Executive arm of government in passing the economic stimulus package, which we graciously did and, I’m sure the legislatures at the state level did the same in their states.
of its own vaccine.”