Why we’re holding NHIS funds — EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says for safety reasons, it is retaining the funds it recently helped the National Health Insurance Scheme recover from persons and institutions that had improper custody of such funds.

EFCC Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu explained this while receiving the NHIS Executive Secretary, Prof. Mohammed Nasir Sambo, on an advocacy visit.

He said the funds were retained in the safety of EFCC custody because the NHIS needed concrete assurance of due process, transparency and accountability in the further handling of the recovered funds.

Magu, who assured of the EFCC’s readiness to release, advised Sambo to intensify his ongoing value reorientation strategy to deepen the moral tone of staff and stakeholders of the NHIS.

He described the Scheme as a very helpful institution in healthcare financing, citing pleasant examples from his personal experience together with his family as enrolees of NHIS.

Sambo had sought the assistance of the EFCC in the release of funds it assisted the scheme to recover from unlawful possessions.

He lauded the EFCC for such recoveries in the past that had been remitted to the Scheme adding that the call for the release of the funds partly arose from the dwindling resources of the Scheme.

He said recent rapid assessments of the new leadership indicated pressing need of funds for critical activities to grow the mandate of the Scheme.