COVID-19: Nigeria Governors to meet Thursday over distribution of Covid vaccines

On Thursday, the governors of Nigeria's 36 states will meet to negotiate logistics for the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines that arrived from India on Tuesday.

Officials from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) will brief the governors on the pandemic.

After the governors and officials of the PTF have decided on the delivery modalities, over 3.9 million doses of vaccines that arrived from India will be distributed to the states.

According to reports, it was gathered that the governors would be relying on the states’ experience in the eradication of the polio vaccines in the distribution of the vaccines.

The states, it was gathered, would ensure that they have the refrigerating facilities that would keep the vaccine in moderate temperatures that are suitable for the efficient performance equivalent of a temperate region.

THISDAY also gathered that the sub-committee of the National Economic Council (NEC) set up to discuss the shortfall in the revenue met wednesday, where the governors raised questions over the declining revenue profile presented by the NNPC.

According to a source privy to the meeting, who spoke to THISDAY, the governors raised queries for the NNPC to explain the shortfall on the revenue accruing from the sale of crude oil.

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He explained that the NNPC officials at the meeting were not forthcoming on how and why the nation is witnessing shortfalls from the sale of crude oil despite reports of an increase in the sale of crude oil.

Representatives of the Nigeria Governors' Forum met with the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) two weeks ago to discuss the state revenue shortfall.

According to the governors' secretariat, the meeting was called at the request of the previous NEC, which was led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

The findings of the NEC subcommittee are likely to influence the federal government's position on how to resolve state revenue shortfalls.