The Governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello has said that he will not be taking the COVID-19 vaccine, stating that it was produced to introduce diseases that will “kill you and us”.
The Nigerian government is working to procure millions of vaccine doses to be distributed to Nigerians by January, according to the health minister Osagie Ehanire.
Coronavirus cases in the country have continued to soar, as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported over 1,000 cases weekly.
It was announced that President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will receive the vaccine on live TV.
This development is in the fashion of countries like Israel where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President-elect Joe Biden received vaccine shots on live TV.
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Yahaya Bello has said that it wouldn’t matter if they received it on TV, as he wouldn’t partake in receiving the vaccine shot.
He argued that vaccines for COVID-19 were developed “in less than one year” but were yet to produce any for HIV, malaria, cancer, and other illnesses.
Bello said, “Vaccines are being produced in less than one year of COVID-19. There is no vaccine yet for HIV, malaria, cancer, headache and for several other diseases that are killing us. They want to use the (COVID-19) vaccines to introduce the disease that will kill you and us. God forbid.
“We should draw our minds back to what happened in Kano during the Pfizer polio vaccines that crippled and killed our children. We have learned our lessons.
“If they say they are taking the vaccines in the public allow them take their vaccines. Don’t say I said you should not take it but if you want to take it open your eyes before you take the vaccines.”
Bello’s Disbelief
The governor’s rejection of the COVID-19 narrative began from the inception of news of the arrival of the disease into the country.
He had invariably stated his disbelief in the existence of the virus in the country.
The governor’s disbelief has led to the state having almost no proper COVID-19 test in the state, as he is of the opinion that the state is free of the virus.
