The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has expressed its readiness to release funds belonging to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and kept in its custody
A statement issued at the weekend by NHIS’ Head of Press and Public Relations, Ayo Osinlu, said the funds were recovered from some public officials who allegedly milked the Scheme treasury dry.
According to Osinlu, the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, spoke during an advocacy visit to his office by the Executive Secretary of NHIS, Prof. Mohammed Nasir Sambo, in Abuja recently.
The statement quoted Magu as saying “the funds were retained in the safety of EFCC custody because the agency needed concrete assurance of due process, transparency and accountability in the further handling of the recovered funds.”
However, the EFCC chief advised his NHIS counterpart to intensify his ongoing value reorientation strategy to deepen the moral tone of staff and stakeholders of the Scheme.
Earlier, Sambo had urged the EFCC to release the funds to augment the dwindling resources of NHIS.
He said: “Recent rapid assessments by the new leadership of NHIS indicate pressing need of funds for critical activities to grow the mandate of the Scheme.”
Sambo also listed professionalization of the operations of the organisation, strengthening the state offices, and the firm application of the reward and sanction mechanism to regulate the conduct of all players in the industry as parts of his strategies for taking the Scheme to the next level.
