Coordinator, United Youths Alliance Against Corruption, Mr Solomon Agbo, has accused the Federal Government of attempting to ‘sweep under the carpet’, the case involving the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, who was recently reinstated.
Addressing the issue on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Agbo questioned the reinstatement, stressing that the “NHIS has failed”, under the leadership of Mr Yusuf.
Mr Yusuf was reinstated on Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari, after being suspended by the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, in June 2017, for alleged gross misconduct.
The suspension, according to a statement by the ministry on July 17, 2017 is in furtherance to the activities of the investigative panel of inquiry as well as the desire to have an uninterrupted and robust investigation of all petitions against some officials of the NHIS.
Read Also: President Buhari Reinstates Suspended NHIS Boss
The Federal Government, however, believes that the reinstatement does not stop any ongoing investigations into the allegations levelled against him.
Many have, however, kicked against the development, with some members of the staff union, taking to the streets in a protest.
Agbo, on the other hand, says beyond the case of the current NHIS boss, there had been continuous cases of previous NHIS DGs subverting the Rule of Law which have never been brought to light until now.
“Talking about the tenure of professor Yusuf, we also had an interest in his predecessor because it has been a continuous process. Even before him, the case has been on with the predecessor.”
Explaining further, he said the NHIS boss failed to follow basic procurement procedures.
According to Mr Agbo, “immediately Yusuf was appointed, he brought in some people (mostly family members) on secondment and placed them in strategic locations.
“The agency became a business venture. He spent above his approval limit. He handled the agency as if it was a private business,” he added.
He also accused anti-graft agencies, the ICPC and EFCC of being reluctant in handling the matter as a result of the President’s influence.
He, however, said his group is currently in court to compel both agencies to swing into action.
This comes weeks after a similar case of reinstatement involving the chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.
The controversy, which saw top government officials trade blames, poked holes in the Federal Government’s efforts in winning the anti-graft war.
Yet again, with the recent case, many have questioned the authenticity of the Federal Government’s war against corruption as well as its ability to root out corrupt officers and are eager to see the outcome.
