Governors of the thirty-six states of Nigeria have agreed on liaising with the federal government to speed up procurement of additional doses of the Covid-19 Vaccine.

A statement issued by chairman of Nigeria's governors forum, Kayode Fayemi revealed that the decision was taken following a presentation by Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the concerns about a third wave of infections in the state.

“The Forum received an update from the Governor of Lagos State, H.E Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on the recent rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases and call for consensual action to prevent a third wave in the country,” Fayemi said in the statement.

While calling "on all State Governors to revive their COVID protocols and collaborate with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to take appropriate and immediate actions to flatten the transmission curve," the statement added that "the forum will interface with the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 to accelerate processes required to fast track the delivery of additional vaccines for the country.”

What you should know

Nigeria is bracing up for a third wave of Covid-19 which is currently sweeping a number of African countries.

While the third wave seems inevitable, the nation is also wary about the spread of the Delta variant of Covid-19 which is the most transmissible mutation capable of making the epidemic curve exponentially.

Although the highly infectious Delta variant has been confirmed in the Nigerian capital Abuja and southwestern Oyo state, it isn’t yet clear what exact measures the governors will reintroduce.

During the first wave of infections, the federal government had introduced guidelines such as restriction of movement, compulsory use of face masks, and strict adherence to physical distancing.

Those measures were later relaxed following a drop in infection numbers.

Lagos state, home to Nigeria's commercial capital, has been the epicentre of Nigeria’s COVID-19 pandemic. It has confirmed 60,366 cases since the outbreak began – nearly 36% of the country’s total.

Just 1% of Lagos state residents have received two doses of vaccines against the novel coronavirus.

There are self-isolation requirements for all incoming passengers, and arrivals from red-list countries Brazil, India, South Africa, and Turkey, must quarantine in a government facility.

But the state governor said 15% of Lagos state arrivals from red-list nations had absconded, while authorities could not reach 18% of other incoming passengers.

He warned of sanctions including fines, imprisonment and deportation for rule breakers, and said Lagos state was “exploring all avenues possible” to increase vaccine access.