I remain ES of NHIS, Prof. Yusuf vows to stay as Reps probe crisis

*Presidency regrets NHIS crisis ethnicised, politicized

*Insists Governing Council wrong to suspend ES

*House of Reps institutes probe of allegation against him

*PDP-led House probe can’t be trusted here – Nigerians

*Say crisis battle btw corrupt elements and integrity

Shehu, who noted with regret that the NHIS crisis had been ethnicized and politicised, however agreed that “there is a lot of work to do.” He said that the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) are the real cartel at NHIS while adding that they were angry that the ES instituted a forensic audit of NHIS finances. “Audit discovered that N46 billion of NHIS money was stashed in different banks. These are people’s money. The HMOs say the ES is using EFCC, CBN, AG, Accountant General AND Asset Recovery to fight them,” he said.

The embattled Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Professor Usman Yusuf has vowed not to recognise his suspension by the scheme’s governing council.

This is even as the House of Representatives mandated its committees on Health and Public Procurement Tuesday to investigate the allegations of fraud and infractions against the Executive Secretary.

The House adopted the resolution after considering a motion by Diri Douye (PDP, Bayelsa) on “the urgent need to prevent NHIS from degenerating into a theatre of war.”

But some concerned Nigerians are saying that there is no way a probe instigated and instituted by a PDP-led House of Representatives to be handled by PDP-led panel can be accepted in this regard where obviously the plans of the opposition and their desperation to work against success of Buhari’s government and its agencies are not in doubt.

One of them said, “The crisis you see in NHIS is caused by struggle between corrupt elements resisting change and integrity being instilled by the change mantra of the Executive Secretary.  Unfortunately, when we cry about media’s not supporting this government this one of it.  Media know this fact but failed to tell Nigerians until BBC now allowed him to speak to Nigerians and the world.”

Yusuf told the BBC Hausa Service Tuesday that he refused to honour the decision of the governing board because it lacks the constitutional power to suspend him.

Speaking on the matter, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in an interview with the Channels Television, said the council did not do the right thing by suspending the ES.

Shehu, who noted with regret that the NHIS crisis had been ethnicized and politicised, however agreed that “there is a lot of work to do.”

He said that the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) are the real cartel at NHIS while adding that they were angry that the ES instituted a forensic audit of NHIS finances.

“Audit discovered that N46 billion of NHIS money was stashed in different banks. These are people’s money. The HMOs say the ES is using EFCC, CBN, AG, Accountant General AND Asset Recovery to fight them,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government said it is working to resolve the crisis in the NHIS.

Officials in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), according a newspaper report, said that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, has been having series of meetings at the Presidential Villa over the crisis.

The officials cannot be named as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.

“The SGF, represented by the Permanent secretary General Services Office(GSO) OSGF, Mr. Olusegun Adekunle, has been having series of meetings over the matter and the government may release a definite position tomorrow (today),” one of the officials said.