Lawmakers ask Health minister to recall suspended NHIS chief

The House Of Representatives has faulted the Minister of Health,Professor Isaac Adewole for ordering the suspension of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf for allegedly committing a series of financial misdeeds.

At the plenary presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the House adopted a motion describing the suspension of the NHIS boss as a breach to its constitutional duties of probing corruption.

The House directed the Minister Of Health and the national health insurance scheme acting executive Secretary to stop every process process of HMOs reaccreditation, pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.

While leading the debate, the house member described the minister’s action against the NHIS chief, as contemptuous adding that it was intended to intimidate and prevent him from testifying before the House committee on Health Services, where he made startling revelations on the scam perpetrated in NHIS over the years.

The lawmakers further directed the Minister to reverse the suspension of the NHIS chief forthwith and allow him to continue with his work.

Last month,the NHIS chief Usman Yusuf testified before the House and decried the level of corruption being perpetrated by Health Ministry.

Yusuf also alleged that there is great corruption in the scheme, and the NHIS ICT department was used to pad up the enrolment to reflect  about 23,000 beneficiaries

But the coalition of Civil Society Against Corruption is asking the National Assembly not to interfere in the suspension of the NHIS Executive Secretary.