Nigerian former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, has received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Atiku is suspected to be the first Nigerian to have received the vaccine.

His spokesman, Paul Ibe, confirmed the development on Thursday stating that he received the vaccine in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“The importance of the #COVID19 vaccine in mitigating the effect of the coronavirus cannot be overstated, particularly in Africa and Nigeria. Yesterday (Wednesday), as part of the mass vaccination programme, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine,” Atiku’s spokesman said.

“He is anxiously looking forward to when Nigerians, especially medical professionals in the frontline and the most vulnerable will be vaccinated in the country.

The Pfizer vaccine is the first to be granted emergency use authorisation by the WHO, and according to Pfizer and BioNTech, it is 90 percent effective.

The vaccine has also been approved by the UK, the US, Malaysia and Switzerland.

The Nigerian government had said it was expecting the delivery of 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the country in early 2021.