THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will arraign former executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Usman Yusuf, today Thursday, January 30.
Usman was arrested on Wednesday, January 29, when operatives of the EFCC stormed his Abuja home at about 4:30 p.m. and picked him up for alleged N4 billion fraud, among other infractions.
His arrest followed an ongoing investigation into an allegation that he inflated the NHIA’s ICT budget from N4.975 billion to N8.7 billion and approved payments beyond his approval limit.
According to media reports, the EFCC is investigating Yusuf for also awarding contracts to a company known as Lubekh Nigeria Limited, where his nephew Khalifa Hassan Yusufu is a director.
Yusuf, a professor of hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant is also being held for financial mismanagement and abuse of office. It’s alleged that he used his position for personal gains, approving contracts without following due process and awarding contracts to firms that lacked the competence to execute projects.
In a telephone chat with The ICIR, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed Yusuf’s arrest and planned arraignment on Thursday (today)
Yusuf was appointed as the head of NHIA (formerly National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS) on July 29, 2016. His tenure at the agency was plagued by controversies.
He severally had confrontations with the former minister of health, Isaac Adewole, a professor, and the chairperson of the board of the former NHIS, Enyantu Ifenne, who jointly accused him of high-handedness, mismanagement, corruption and other infractions.
The NHIA staff protested at various times at the organisation’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, demanding his sack.
Several petitions were submitted to former President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Health, alleging misconduct and fraudulent practices against him.
Buhari eventually sacked him in July 2019, ten months after he was suspended from office by the governing council of the agency.
A reporter with the ICIR
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