From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai and his Deputy, Dr Hadiza Balarabe, have received the first doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House clinic on Wednesday.
Governor El-Rufai said the state government has received 180,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from the federal government.
The governor, who urged residents to take the vaccine against COVID-19, said he and his deputy received the vaccines publicly to encourage people of the state to get vaccinated. ‘Let’s receive the vaccine so that we can return to our normal life,’ he said.
While assuring that the vaccines are safe with no side effects, Governor El-Rufai charged traditional rulers to be the first to take the vaccines in their communities to encourage their subjects to follow suit.
The governor, who addressed the traditional rulers shortly before taking the vaccine, said: ‘This is to inform our traditional leaders that we have received about 180,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
‘Our frontline health workers are being vaccinated right now and I will, along with the Deputy Governor and members of the State Executive Council will be taking the vaccine for all our citizens to see.
‘The vaccine is quite safe and we urge all of you to be the first to take the jab in your communities to encourage our citizens to follow suit. This will accelerate the return to normalcy in our lives and pursuit of livelihoods, and full opening up of all schools, event centres, restaurants, markets and gamut of human activities,’ Governor El-Rufai said.
