HMCAN vows legal action against reinstatement of NHIS boss

Worried about its negative impact on the growth of health insurance in the country, Health & Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN), has joined the league of Nigerians condemning the reinstatement of the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf.

While some NHIS workers staged a protest against the reinstatement of the suspended NHIS boss, HMCAN, the umbrella body of Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) licensed operators of the NHIS, has disclosed that it would contest the reinstatement of Yusuf in court.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday reinstated Yusuf exactly six months after he was suspended by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, following allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office.

Addressing journalists in Lagos at the weekend on the development, Chairman of HMCAN, Dr. Tunde Ladele, said even before the reinstatement of the suspended NHIS boss, his appoinment had been in contention,describing Yusuf as unfit for the job.

He said: “We will definitely contest his reinstatement in court. We were already in court before his suspension and those that have been following the trend, knew that we were in court. We were contesting his appointment that was irregular.

Ladele continued: “But immediately he was suspended, there was a vacuum, so we could no longer proceed because the position we were attacking was attached to him. We had to stay action on that matter after he was suspended by the Minister of Health, but now that he is back in office, we will proceed with our case. The other thing we were contesting was the distortion of the processes in the scheme. So, we have a case in court already.”

Kicking against the action of the President, Ladele said: “We condemn it and do not approve of it. Again, the action of the President did not speak well of his anti-corruption war”.

On government’s assurances that investigation was ongoing, he said: ” While noting the gravity of the allegations against him, HMCAN is mindful of the dictum that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction .
“We advise that in the spirit of transparency, accountability and the stance of government on corruption, the report of the investigation should not be swept under the carpet”.

Ladele reminded the President that doing this will erode public confidence and cast a doubt on the sincerity of this administration.

The reinstatement of Yusuf many stakeholders say, lends credence to the fact that the anti-corruption war of the President is lopsided, decrying that it has different standards for different people.

The Daily Times recalls that the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, had in July suspended the NHIS boss over alleged N919 million procurement scam and abuse of office.

The Ministry of Health, five months ago, submitted the report of a panel on the allegations against Yusuf to the Presidency. In its report, the panel accused the NHIS boss of N 919m fraud while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is investigation the allegations. The agency had also quizzed Yusuf for many hours over the matter.

Efforts made by our correspondent to get Yusuf’s reaction proved abortive as his telephone number was switched off at press time.