Come up with more potent COVID-19 vaccines — President Buhari challenges Nigerian universities

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged Nigerian universities to intensify their research in order to develop COVID-19 vaccine to tackle the dreaded virus afflicting the country.

The President, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, gave the challenge at the 5th and 6th combined convocation of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA) on Saturday.

He explained that Nigerian Universities were supposed to be centres for scientific and technological discoveries, inventions, values and character formation as well as drivers of societal development.
The president added that the development of the vaccine would fortify Nigerians’ immune system against the virus.

He further noted that his administration remained committed to tackling the challenges of sustainable funding for research, capacity building and employment creation. According to him, “You all know that in the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began its devastating effect on the education sub-sectors, leading to the destr*ction of universities’ academic activities.

“I therefore urge and encourage the universities to intensify their research to come up with a more potent vaccine to fortify our immune system against this dreaded virus”.