The ministerial investigative committee set up to probe the executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Prof Usman Yusuf was paid N19 million from the contributions of NHIS enrolees as sitting allowance, Daily Trust investigations have shown.Analysis of official documents obtained by Daily Trust revealed that 21 members of the committee were paid N19,184,000 from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the NHIS on September 14, 2017. The committee sat for three weeks.
Breakdown of the payment described as “honorarium for committee IRO Investigation on NHIS” shows that the immediate past permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, Hajiya Binta Adamu Bello, who was the chairperson of the committee, was paid N1,280,000.Each of the 13 directors on the committee was paid N960, 000 while the four assistant directors received N640, 000 each. Even the permanent secretary’s security details were paid N320, 000 each, according to the official payment details reviewed by this newspaper.
The sum of N1, 904,000 was also paid to the secretary of the committee Dr O. J. Amedu for “purchase of stationeries,” the document revealed.
The 13 directors on the committee are Dr Wapada Balami, Halad Maymako Keana, Anthony Hassan, Gambo Mu’azu, Olayemi O. Sotomi, Laurat A. Elayo, David Aku, Paul Damian, Araoye Segilola, Mohammed B. Orire, Evans Uoekanem, Dr O. J. Amedu and Jamiu Adelabu Abdulkareem.
The four assistant directors are Dickson E. Ohenmwen, Peter C. Uzoje, Charity Oyinyechi Chibuzo, and Abdulqadir Bello; while the security details on the committee are Garba Mustapha, Kolawole Kareem Rasaki, and Abubakar Mohammed.
Some top officials at the scheme and the ministry, who spoke to Daily Trust said: “these financial inducements are a criminal and flagrant violation of Civil Service Rule.”
“What is most worrisome is the fact that money was paid out of the coffers of the NHIS which is essentially money from enrolees meant to pay for their medical care and that of their families,” a senior official who craved for anonymity for fear of victimization, said.
“Why did the ministry of health not pay for a committee it set up?” another ministry official said, adding that “these payments clearly fly in the face of natural justice, the fact that money was used as an inducement discredit the content of this report.”
The Minister of Health Prof Isaac Adewole on July 6, 2017, suspended Prof Yusuf for three months over allegations of “procurement of a N58 million SUV” and “corrupt expenditure of N292 million” on health care training “without recourse to any appropriate approving authority”- the NHIS boss has denied any wrongdoing.
The suspension of NHIS boss coincided with an ongoing probe at the House of Representatives wherein Prof Yusuf accused Health Management Organisations (HMOs) of perpetrating monumental fraud.
The lawmakers, therefore, saw the suspension as an attempt to intimidate Prof Yusuf and stifle its probe.
Daily Trust analysis of official correspondences between the health ministry and NHIS revealed that Prof Yusuf might have been suspended for his refusal to grant the ministry’s dozens of requests for sponsorship of its officials to foreign events, execution of phoney contracts, chartering aircraft for the minister – all running into hundreds of millions of naira, among others.
For instance, Mrs Bello was the one that signed the controversial memo, with reference number DFA/CORR/001, dated March 18, 2017, forwarding the health minister Prof Adewole’s request for N197 million from the NHIS “intervention fund” for payment of “contracts awarded for rehabilitation and equipping” of seven Federal Medical Centres (FMCs).
Citing a Federal Government circular with Ref.No.SGF.6/VIII, dated May 8, 2008, sent to all MDAs in 2008, and signed by the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe criminalising such actions, Prof Yusuf refused these and several such requests from the health ministry.
When contacted, Prof Yusuf declined to make any comment for the story.
The spokesperson of NHIS Ayo Oshinlu didn’t pick several calls to his mobile phone nor replied a text message sent to him over the story by our reporters on Sunday and yesterday.
When contacted on Sunday, the ministry in a text message sent to our reporter by its spokesperson Mrs Boade Akinola said the payment “shouldn’t be a big deal.”“The committee is going to recover N991 million. They sat for 30 days and the membership was drawn from various places, not the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) alone. They (committee members) were paid their entitlement and this shouldn’t be a big deal. The FMOH couldn’t have paid it because it was not budgeted for hence NHIS has to pay,” the spokesperson said.
Moments after Mrs Akinola’s reaction on Sunday, a PR man for the minister called to assure Daily Trust that the minister will speak to us on Monday but that did not happen. But when our reporter went to the minister’s office yesterday around 2 pm as agreed, she was told the minister was engaged in “meetings outside the office.” She couldn’t speak to the minister up to the time she left the office around 6 pm yesterday.
When this newspaper asked the minister’s PR man last night why the minister didn’t speak to us, he said he waited for four hours to see the minister yesterday with our reporter, but they couldn’t see him. He said he was told that the minister was engaged with some NGOs.
He said he even tried to see the permanent secretary of the ministry to provide some documents on the payment but that was also not possible. He said our reporter can come back for an interview someday.
Daily Trust News
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