Senate probes NHIS boss over N860m scam

The Senate has resolved to constitute an adhoc panel to probe the activities of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof Usman Yusuf, over the ‘illegal’ expenditures of N860 million.

Senators said the amount was spent at various times above the threshold of N2.5 million for the Executive Secretary.

Moving a motion on the matter, Senator Kabiru Marafa (APC, Zamfara) said Yusuf “single-handedly” incurred an expenditure of N292m for Health Care Financing Training without recourse to any appropriate approving authority.

He said there was “another scandalous expenditure of N400m spent, purportedly, for training in the month of October, 2016,” saying the ES also “illegally” spent N118m for training of staff without reference to any appropriate authority.

Similarly, Marafa said despite presidential orders banning promotional items and souvenirs, the ES went ahead to expend N50m for items such as T-shirts and face caps.

He said the ES also carried out “illegal appointments into the agency without recourse to due process,” which he said was lopsided and fraudulent.

“The lopsided nature of the said employment, including the fraudulent change in the designation and nomenclature of General Manager (GM) to ‘Head,’ to circumvent the provision of extant laws establishing the NHIS,” Marafa said.

Additionally, he said there was a recent elevation of a 32-year old man to the position of Assistant General Manager (AGM), who has less than 10 years experience, while another 15 staff were recruited on full employment or secondment without adherence to extant civil service rules.

“These appointments and the behaviour of the ES has dampened the morale of staff of the agency, especially those that have over 15 years in service,” he said, adding that the action would have negative consequences on the country’s health sector.

He said there were concerns “that the corrupt and scandalous activities of the ES if left unchecked could affect the smooth running of the agency.”