The Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN) and other stakeholders in the health sector has asked the Federal high court sitting in Abuja to declare the appointment of the executive secretary of the NHIS Usman Yusuf as invalid, unconstitutional, null and void.
In the originating summon sighted by our correspondent, the plaintiff which are the healthcare insurance stakeholders and an enrollee said the unilateral appointment of the NHIS boss by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without the recommendation of the honorable minister of health, Isaac Adewole was a flagrant violation of the National Health Insurance Act CAP N42 LFN 2014, the president and attorney general are defendants.
Meanwhile more revelations continues to emerge about the corrupt activities perpetrated by the reinstated suspended executive secretary of the NHIS, In a memo with Ref Number ICPC/SDD/TB/53/2017, sighted by our correspondent from the ICPC, Usman Yusuf and other four officers were mandated to return the sum of 14,883,000 naira been the fund advanced to them for an aborted trip to the Netherland for oracle health insurance management system.
The reinstated executive secretary was given an advance payment of N4, 344,000 with the breakdown of N2,484,000 for estacodes, N1.8 million for air ticket and N60,000 for fuelling and transportation from Abuja to Kaduna and Back to Abuja.
The ICPC said Yusuf Usman and the four officials violated the provision of the corrupt practices and other related offences Act 2000 by not returning the amount back since the trip was aborted.
The suspended executive secretary was reinstated back to the NHIS by the President some few weeks back despite a panel report that found him culpable of alleged nepotism and theft of public funds to the tune of N919million.
In a similar vein, the PDP made the declaration in a statement issued on Monday by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, referring to an exclusive report on the theft that showed how the recently reinstated executive secretary of the NHIS, Professor Yusuf Usman, and other officials made unauthorized withdrawals from enrollees’ funds in two installments of N5 billion each from the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) in the Central Bank of Nigeria, which is under the direct purview of the Presidency.
According to the PDP, the country is being pushed daily to the precipice by the Presidency’s incompetence. It added that it is the height of hypocrisy for a government superintending over illegal withdrawals and theft stealing of funds to parade itself as fighting corruption.
Anthonia Obokoh
