The staff and management of Nigeria’s Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS) between 2016 and 2017 helped themselves with several
‘irregular’ and unapproved allowances totalling N6.8 billion, a recently
released audit report has revealed.
These infractions were
recorded during the reign of Usman Yusuf, the controversially sacked
NHIS Executive Secretary, according to the 2017 Annual Audit from the
Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (OAGF).
The report adds a new layer to the barrage of allegations of fraudulent activities that tainted Mr Yusuf’s trenure.
ILLEGAL ALLOWANCES
The 2017 report, which is the latest by the auditor-general, listed several irregular allowances within the period under review.
They
include Upfront Allowance; Upfront differential Allowance; 13th Month
Salary Allowance; Pre-retirement Overseas Training Allowance; and
Sitting Allowance.
The above payments totalling N4.9 billion
violated Public Service Rule 130102, as they are not part of the
allowances listed as payable to officers in the Federal Public Service,
the report found.
The OAGF submission revealed that these
allowances were paid without providing approvals of the National
Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, contravening the act of the
commission.
The report said differential payment is “illegal and alien” to the public service.
Another N1.8 billion was paid to staff as ‘administrative allowances; Children Education Allowances; and domestic allowances’.
These
payments were not approved by the relevant authorities, contravening
2004 circular which states that “all self-funded federal Parastatals and
Agencies which wish to monetise their fringe benefits should always
submit the proposal package to the National Salaries, Income, and Wages
Commission for necessary evaluation and approval before implementation”.
SHOCKING SLEAZE?
Besides
irregular payments to staff, the report said the federal health
insurance office engaged in at least another 13 illegal financial
dealings amounting to N748 million during the period under review.
The
scheme spent a total of ₦355 million on capital projects which were not
appropriated for in 2016 and 2017 Capital Appropriation Act – a
practice “contrary to Financial Regulations 417”, a further breakdown of
the document revealed.
According to the report, NHIS also spent
₦161 million on International travels ”without any evidence of approval
by the Head of Service of the Federation.”
Similarly, ₦20 million was paid to retiring officers to attend pre-retirement workshops outside Nigeria.
The
report said further examinations revealed ”there was no letter of
invitation/admission or certificates of attendance from the various
institutions where the conferences and training were held.”
Also, there were no air tickets and visas attached to prove that the officers embarked on the training.
The
NHIS was equally accused of paying N72 million and N31. million
respectively for the verification and accreditation of Health
Maintenance Organizations without any form of evidence to confirm if the
verification and accreditation exercises took place.
The report observed that several vehicles were illegally allocated to the Executive Secretary, ”his personal aides and allies”.
The
AOGF highlighted several extant regulations contravened by the
aforementioned irregular financial dealings. It recommended a total
refund in most cases.
AGENCY STEEPED IN FRAUD
The 2017 OAGF report has shed more light into several accusations of fraud that characterised Mr Yusuf’s reign at the NHIS.
In
his three-year stint (2016 to 2019), the controversial official was
sent on suspension twice within a year; accused of fraud, gross
misconduct, insubordination and continuous infighting with staff and
management of the scheme.
In November 2018, the governing board
of NHIS raised an alarm that the agency was near a “tipping point” and
may collapse within the next three years.
Reached by phone on Monday, Mr Yusuf dismissed a PREMIUM TIMES reporter and the audit report using expletives.
But
even before Mr Yusuf, monumental fraud, opacity and impunity had become
standard practice at the NHIS, a PREMIUM TIMES 2018 report revealed.
The
2016 annual report from the OAGF revealed that billions of naira were
unaccounted for by the management of the NHIS in the previous seven
years.
The NHIS, which was meant to reduce out-of-pocket spending
on health, has remained stuck due to fraud and controversies as
indicated in the OAGF report. It has also faced technical, legal and
administrative challenges.
A decade-and-a-half after its
inception, the NHIS covers only about five per cent of the Nigerian
population, mostly civil servants. While millions of Nigerians remain
uncovered, the few enrolled under the scheme complain of poor service
delivery.
Reformer on board?
As at press time, Ayo Osinlu,
the NHIS spokesperson, had not returned nor responded to calls and text
messages seeking clarification from the scheme over the new findings.
Meanwhile, the scheme appears to be moving on from its dark days.
After
the axe fell on Mr Yusuf last June, Mohammed Sambo who was appointed as
his replacement, has been taking steps to get the scheme back on track.
In
his maiden interaction with staff and management of the NHIS, the new
Executive Secretary revealed his three-point agenda for the scheme.
They include ”restoring value system that will transform NHIS into a credible result-driven organisation”, he said.
This he said, would resolve the crisis and restore public confidence in the scheme.
Mr Sambo, a professor of Health Policy and Management, has also been engaging with several stakeholders in the scheme.
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