APC slams Gov Bello over statement alleging that vaccine is meant to kill Nigerians
By Modupe Shodeinde
The All Progressive Congress, APC, Mandate Defenders, has challenged Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, for discouraging Nigerians from taking Covid-19 vaccines, which he said is meant to kill.
The Governor had warned people against taking the vaccines, alleging that they were meant to kill.
“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,” the governor said.
However, the APC Mandate Defenders yesterday in a statement had criticized the Governor for making such statement.
The group warned the governor against inciting the people to reject the vaccine, which is tantamout to inciting war crimes
”Our attention has been drawn to the trending video in which Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State was seen telling his supporters not to accept the COVID-19 vaccines which the Federal Government has concluded arrangements to acquire and get Nigerians inoculated.
”Governor Bello has the right to reject the vaccine but extending such beyond his boundary will not be allowed or tolerated as the scourge of the virus increases across the country. Discouraging Nigerians not to accept the COVID-19 vaccines in the face of the ongoing biological war is tantamount to incitement to commit war crime.
”Besides, no vaccine would be administered on any Nigerian without passing through NAFDAC re-validation.”
According to the group, vaccines such as Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine, Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine, Moderna Vaccine, Sinovac Vaccine, among others, have been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organisation as well as the various regulatory bodies across the globe.
“Therefore, alleging that President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government wants to introduce vaccines to kill Nigerians in his unfortunate video is the height of desecration and disrespect for the Office of the President of the country.
“It also amounts to insubordination as well as usurpation of powers of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
”We can afford to allow Gov. Bello to continue with his antics unrestrained, but accusing the President of introducing vaccines in order to kill Nigerians will not be tolerated by any means because that is the highest form of incitement against the President.
“In lieu of the foregoing, we are aware that the governor has been going round campaigning to become President and we have no problem with that at all, but inciting the Nigerian people against President Buhari and his government simply because he wants to succeed him in 2023 is unacceptable because he who must destroy another person to succeed must have destruction awaiting him at the point of his success.
”Again, we wish to restate that we have no issue with Gov. Yahaya Bello’s Presidential ambition whatsoever, but allowing such ambition to make him to start fighting the current President of the country and usurping his constitutional powers is unacceptable. We will resist his covert and overt strategies aimed at destroying the government of President Muhammadu Buhari who still have some years to make Nigeria better.
”Therefore, we call on Nigerians to continue to ignore Gov. Yahaya Bello and rally round President Muhammadu Buhari as he strives to fulfill his campaign promises to the people because inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.”
