Nigeria’s number one man, President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is in talks with the World Bank to obtain $30 million to build a vaccine plant in Nigeria.

Buhari, represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, made this known in Jos on Saturday during the graduation of Senior Executive Course 43 participants of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.

The President said he hoped that the vaccine plant to be built in collaboration with May & Baker Nigeria Plc would commence next year.

He said, “Nigeria is in talks with the World Bank’s private lending arm and other lenders to raise about $30 million to help finance a vaccine plant – Biovaccines Nigeria Ltd, (with 49 per cent of the company owned by the Nigerian government and the balance held by May & Baker Nigeria Plc), plans to begin construction of the plant in the first quarter of next year.

“The plant will initially ‘fill and finish,’ which means importing the raw materials for the vaccines and then packaging them for distribution. Full manufacturing is expected to follow.”

Buhari said but for providence and the good policies of his government, the COVID-19 pandemic would have wreaked unimaginable havoc on the Nigerian economy.

In September, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lamented the reckless borrowing by the Buhari-led government.

The opposition party noted that the All Progressives Congress-led government had already accumulated N33.107 trillion debt, noting that the government had nothing to show but decayed infrastructure and a depressed economy.