Obi said the amount can be reduced if he’s allowed to negotiate and plead on behalf of the country. 

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire had in December 2020, said that the federal government needed about N400 billion for COVID-19 vaccines.

The minister said the amount would be required to vaccinate 70 percent of Nigeria’s over 200 million population at $8 per person.

But while speaking during an interview on Arise TV, the former Vice Presidential candidate on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, said the COVID-19 vaccines could be bought for $2 each.

He said, “The issue of vaccine is one that I feel a sense of pain. Nigeria as a country in 1940 established what we called National Vaccine Production Facility domiciled in Yaba, and that was able to produce virtually all the vaccines we used in the days of smallpox, yellow fever, and that facility was shut down in 1991 to be refurbished and upgraded, there was nothing wrong with it.”

“Now I hear that we are looking for N400bn. Well, I am at loss. Our budget this year for health is N547bn. I don’t know if they are going to take this vaccine procurement from it, because if they do, we are left with N147bn.

“For the vaccine procurement also, we need to have transparency in the procurement. Today, vaccine in India costs between $2.25 cents to $3. That is an average of $2.75 and if you say you are going to use N400 billion, that is about $1bn. If you divide $1bn by $2.75cents each, that is about 350 million doses which is far in excess of what we need.

“World Health Organisation said if you can inject 70 percent of your population, that’s it. 70 percent of Nigeria is about 140 million so we are actually looking for 140 million doses. Considering that some other people are going to give us some free, we actually don’t need more than 120 million. But even if we’re buying 140 million, we just need about three hundred and eighty-something million dollars which is about N150bn to buy it.

“If they have a N400bn budget to buy the vaccine, my suggestion, they don’t need to award contracts in this vaccine, let them just call Serum institute in India and plead with them. I am sure they will even give us a discount.

Obi said if the federal government allowed him to go for the negotiation, the vaccine won't cost more than $2 per person.

Meanwhile, American philanthropist and Microsoft Co-founder, Bill Gates has advised the federal government to focus more on revitalising its health sector rather than spending its limited money on COVID-19 vaccines.