The suspended Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf, is alleged to have paid N508 million to consultants without due process.
The Chairman of NHIS, Mrs. Enyatu Ifenne, while appearing before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating the crisis rocking the agency on Thursday, also alleged that Prof Yusuf awarded contracts worth millions of naira without approval.
Ifenne equally accused the executive secretary of misappropriation of funds and sundry acts of financial recklessness.
She told the ad-hoc committee that from the time the governing board was constituted till the suspension of the executive secretary, there were allegations of award of contracts and spending of millions of naira without approval from the relevant authorities.
According to her, the suspension of the NHIS CEO by the Governing Board was because it believed that the agency must exercise transparency and accountability.
She told the panelists that there were many issues that led the board to take the suspension decision.
Ifenne said the issues included the financial infractions of the executive secretary, which were queried by the board, the padding of the 2018 budget of the agency and nepotism in terms of posting and remuneration of the workers’ entitlements.
She also said that in 2015, NHIS boss paid N508 million to consultants for staff training, while another N48 million was expended on posting without due process.
In his submission, Comrade Omomeji Abdulrasak, representative of the Civil Servants Association of Health Workers, accused the suspended executive secretary of “orphaning the scheme”.
He stated that the suspension of Yusuf was long overdue because he had “flagrantly engaged in corruption, award of contract without due process, abuse of public trust, nepotism in remuneration and posting of staff and diversion of public properties”.
He stated that there were several attempts by the executive secretary to move away N25 billion from the coffers of the NHIS in an attempt to set up his own home office without recourse to the approving authorities which was resisted by the staff of the scheme.
He explained that Prof. Yusuf awarded contracts of N46 million for maintenance; another N17.5 million for capacity building to Lubek Nigeria Ltd; a company he had a controlling interest is owned by Mr. Hassan Yusuf, one of his nephews.
Other financial infractions of the NHIS boss, according to Comrade Abdulrazaq, include using N3.5 million for the purchase of newspapers for his office, N567 million for the payment of seven Police orderlies without approval.
The union representative also alleged that the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation had withdrawn N10 billion from the coffers of the agency.
Other allegations against the NHIS boss include “diversion of eight digital cameras, four security saves, two refrigerators, eight vision cameras, 1.5 KVA inverter with batteries, five wireless mouse, HP desktop computers and stabilisers”.
Addressing the committee, Prof. Isaac Adewole, the Minister of Health, said the crisis at the NHIS predated the period of the suspended executive secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari had already waded into the matter by directing the executive secretary to proceed on an administrative leave and constituted a committee to properly investigate the allegations against Prof. Yusuf.
He said that Mr. Ben Omogo, a director from the Federal Ministry of Health, had been appointed to oversee the NHIS.
Responding, Ossai Nicholas Ossai, PDP, Delta, chairman of the ad hoc committee, demanded for all documents regarding the allegations levelled against the embattled executive secretary as well as records of staff posting and other necessary documents to aid the investigation.
The suspended executive secretary is expected to make his presentation Friday.
