Report from the executive panel set up by the Federal Government (FG) to investigate the crisis in the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has recommended the dismissal of Usman Yusuf (Professor), the Executive Secretary (ES) of the Agency.
Aside from the Executive Secretary (ES), the panel also recommended the dissolution of the NHIS Governing board over the alleged financial embezzlement and misappropriation in the Agency.
It can be recalled that the board suspended the ES for alleged fraud and for rendering the Agency dysfunctional.
But Yusuf defied the boards' decision, insisting that it had no power to suspend him.
Yusuf also denied all the accusations labeled against him rather he responded that his trivial is because of his refusal to release the sum of N975 million to the Ministry of Health as demanded by the Minister due to shady deals he perceived in such request.
As the pressure got heightened, the Federal Government asked the NHIS ES to proceed on compulsory leave and subsequently set up the panel to probe the matter.
The panel reportedly accused Yusuf of breaching the public procurement act as well as the public service rules.
It was also gathered that the NHIS ES had an unhealthy relationship with the staff of the agency, local unions, and some other key agencies in the health sector, which negatively impacted on the workings of the Agency.
More so, the report had it that another reason Yusuf should be dismissed is for his failure to explore internal administrative remedies before he sued Isaac Adewole, the Minister of health as well as the governing board of the Agency over the crisis.
Some extract from the report reads in part as “Relieve the Executive Secretary of his appointment.
Justification: Inability to work in harmony with all the relevant stakeholders in the scheme for the attainment of the scheme’s mandate.
Established cases of infractions of the Public Service Rules i.e. insubordination and refusal to carry out lawful instructions from superior authorities (governing council and the Federal Ministry of Health) contrary to PSR Rule 030301 (0), unauthorized public utterances contrary to Rule 030421 (id), and relevant service-wide circulars.
Other infractions unraveled by the panel include established cases of infraction of the following provisions of the Public Procurement Act: Sections 16(6) and 32(7), respectively.
