BUA has paid for one million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines for Nigeria through the AFREXIM Vaccine programme in partnership with CACOVID, the group said Monday.
In a statement by O’tega Ogra, Group Head, Corporate Communications, BUA said the vaccines will be distributed free to Nigerians.
The statement quoted BUA founder, Abdul Samad Rabiu, as thanking the President of the Afrexim Bank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, for making the purchase possible. He also thanked Nigerian Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for coordinating the process through the CACOVID private sector partnership.
“BUA decided to secure these one million vaccines by paying the full amount for the vaccines today because these vaccines became available only last week through AFREXIM,” the statement explained.
“We expect the vaccines to be delivered within the next 14 days and hope priority will be given to our frontline workers who have committed their lives to manage the pandemic,” the group added.
“In addition to this, BUA is committing to purchase five million doses for Nigeria as soon as they become available through this same arrangement.” This development effectively pushes Africa’s most populous nation to the front of the queue in vaccine procurement.”
