The Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, yesterday in Kano, accused the NHIS, the HMOs, hospitals, insurance companies, as the institutions that ganged up to mastermind his suspension for six months, with the intent to defraud Nigerians.
Yusuf, who spoke to reporters, on why he was suspended from office, lamented that the rot perpetrated in those institutions was not only disturbing and alarming but meant to deny 180 million Nigerians from benefitting from the scheme, thereby placing their lives in danger.
According to him:โโI came in 1st of August, 2016 and I saw all these mess, with NHIS, HMOs, hospitals, insurance companies, with our money in banks and I said this is not acceptable, for corruption will fight you back, you have to fight it, if you want to do the right thing, this cannot continue, as it has been.
โโI asked myself questions, we are supposed to cover 180 million on the provision of healthcare, we only cover 3 million, why?, who has been taking the money?, We all know that, I say, this not acceptable and anywhere you hear that people are after a chief executive, itโs because we are not allowing things to happen as before.
โโSo, they took me to court to make sure that the judge makes me to maintain the status quo! What is status quo? To continue to give them money blindly and then not delivering to hospitals. They took me to the National Assembly. They have been writing all sorts of things in the paper and the social media. They just want to distract me. They said I was a thief and stole N900 million, with unsubstantiated allegation.
โโBut I have told Nigerians time and time again. I have a promise, not to any human being in life but to my creator that I am going to be a good custodian to this money, the day I will not do that, I will walk away. Number one, if I want to steal money, NHIS money is a blood money! This money is meant to pay for the sick.
โโAnd people have been feasting on this blood money and I said no! That is the reason why they have been fighting me. Only in Nigeria that people look at you in the face and say, you are a thief. Where I came from, the onus of proof is from the accuser, not the accused.
โโIf you say I stole N900 million, then prove to me or you take me to EFCC or ICPC. The president knows better. We are all serving at the pleasure of President Buhari, weโre presidential appointees. The president can fire you any time, without reason but I have said it time and time again, nobody gave me my honour and integrity, I have earned it, all of us over our life time, all of us. And if anyone is trying to impinge upon my integrity, I will fight them.
โโThis is the problem. Calling me, thief, thief, they want to destabilize me. They want to push me out. They want to bring out this nonsense but the President has seen the truth, he is a man of honour and integrity.
โโWay back, the battle continues, where we stopped, we would not stop fighting. We know that corruption will fight you by proxy and fight you frontally, so, it is never an ending fight. If they want to continue, we are ready to do that, the day, I am not ready to do it, I will just pack my things and go,โ he said.
