Umar Akilu Majeri
Governor Badaru of Jigawa state has threatened to lock down the state for the second time due to poor coverage of COVID -19 vaccine in the state, investigation shows that only 53,751 out of 1.8 million people targeted has received their complete doses of COVID-19 Vaccine in the state.
It would be recalled that Jigawa is the first among the 36 states of the federation that inaugurated the Covid-19 vaccination exercise.
Speaking while launching the scale-up of the covid-19 vaccination held, Thursday, at Kiyawa, Governor Muhammad Badaru expressed fear over the resurfaces of the Covid-19 amidst a 3rd wave in Nigeria and other European countries.
The Governor who promised to resist any attempt to turn Jigawa like Spain and other foreign countries where the scourge of the disease resurfaced as a result of public negligence, therefore, threatened to lock down the state if people continue to reject and spread rumors about the Covid-19 vaccine.
“Recently, I have been tested over twenty times and confirmed Covid-19 negative when I traveled to many countries, courtesy of Covid-19 jab that I received,” Badaru stressed.
He warned that his administration would not tolerate poor coverage this time, saying that, “We’re committed to reaching out to at least 5,000 eligible people in each of our 287 political wards between now and the end of the year 2022”
However, The Jigawa state Governor charged all local government chairmen and traditional rulers as well as other community leaders in the state to wake up and ensure enforcement of the vaccine in order to meet the desired target groups in their respective areas.
Earlier, The Executive Director of, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Represented by the North West Zonal Director of the Agency Dr. Kabir Muhammad said that the Nigerian government is committed to ensuring full vaccination of 70 percent eligible persons before the end of 2022.
The Executive Director who reads out the Jigawa record during the occasion, expressed concern on the poor Covid-19 Vaccination Coverage In the state, saying that, “Out of 1.8 million targeted, A total of 122,200 people have received the vaccination for the first dose, while only 53,751 received second doses since flagging off of the vaccination exercise in April this year in the state, this figure is not encouraging,” he declared.
In his speech, the Emir of Dutse, Dr. Nuhu Muhammad Sunusi who was represented by Galadiman Dutse, Alhaji Basiru Muhammad urged people in the state to come out in mass to receive the COVID 19 vaccine it is very healthy and it has no side effects
Basiru added that the vaccine is fully screened and it has value in life because it’s important they do it for the first round and now for the second time, he, therefore, call on the people to come out in Mass and collect their own.
