BUA Group has expressed shock over the denial by Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) of its payment for one million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for Nigeria via the Afrexim vaccine platform.
While publishing digital receipts of the payments made to CACOVID Account with the CBN on Monday, the company said it paid $3.45m for the procurement of the vaccines valued at $3.45 each.
The company expressed its shock in reaction to a statement by CACOVID denying that BUA singlehandedly secured the doses.
BizWatch Nigeria had earlier reported that the coalition had insisted that procurement of the vaccines could not be done by individuals or companies.
The CACOVID said that the leadership of CACOVID agreed to contribute $100 million to procure vaccines for Nigeria, with the one million doses from Afreximbank worth $3.45 million being the very first tranche.
However, BUA Group in a statement on Monday explained that during a meeting of the CACOVID steering committee, no member of the coalition volunteered to pay for the vaccines when the opportunity was presented by the CBN governor.
The statement read, “BUA receives with utter shock reports allegedly attributed to CACOVID disowning its earlier payment through CACOVID for one million AstraZeneca doses for Nigeria via the Afrexim vaccine platform.
“At the CACOVID steering committee meeting held on Monday, members were informed by the CBN Governor that CACOVID had been given the opportunity through the Afrexim platform to access and pay for one millions doses, provided payment was made today or tomorrow, failure which the opportunity to get doses next week may be lost.”
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“After extensive deliberations, there was no agreement reached and despite members being offered the opportunity to donate funds towards procuring the doses, none offered. BUA then took it upon itself to offer to pay for the one million doses at the agreed rate of $3.45 per dose totaling $3.45million, which translates to N1.311bn.”
“We find this release by CACOVID to be very petty and unbecoming of seemingly corporate citizens because it is tantamount to playing politics with the lives of Nigerians and it does not matter who is helping or paying. We have decided to let the money remain in the CACOVID account with the CBN pending when they are ready to utilise the funds for Nigerians to access the vaccines,” it added.
Copies of the press release and receipts can be found below:
