Reinstatement of suspended NHIS boss questions Buhar’s anti-graft war

The decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to recall the suspended Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Usman Yusuf, has attracted knocks from  some Nigerian experts, who said that the President’s decision is clearly in conflict with his stance on anti- corruption.

Yusuf, who was suspended by the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, on July 6, 2017, for alleged fraud of N919 million was reinstated in a letter with reference number, ‘SH/COS/10/6/A/29’, signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari. The letter said that the President informed the minister of Yusuf’s recall, adding that he (Yusuf) had been “admonished to work harmoniously with the minister.”

The Minister according to a source had admitted getting the letter on Tuesday evening but made no further comments on the matter.

Yusuf was still being grilled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offenses Commission (ICPC) when his reinstatement was announced on Wednesday.

The experts, who spoke to BusinessDay on the matter, have these to say.

…President Buhari breached due process-  Sam Amadi

A legal expert and former Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Sam Amadi, noted that the President breached the process of reinstatement stressing that the committee set up by the minister and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe the allegation against Yusuf have not concluded investigations.

“The reinstatement while the investigation is still going on is a clear undermining of the process. The Minister has constitutional power to suspend the officer.

But if the president wants to override the minister, he should allow the panel to finish their investigation and present their report to the president, then he can review it and perhaps he can fault their report.

“The action of the president suggested that he has rejected the procedure without due process without waiting for the outcome of the panel, which means he has overlooked and overridden whatever outcome of the investigation.

“The war against corruption should be based on principles, it is basically a process and so when the fight against corruption fails to keep elemental aspect of the process then it is tragic.

“The president must allow the process instead of using his power to truncate investigation and therefore nullifying every allegation against that officer. The president has by that action portrayed that either the officer is not guilty or he does not care whether the officer is guilty as alleged.”

…Buhari’s stance conflicts with his anti-corruption policy -Bellonwu – Okafor

While reacting to the recall of the suspended NHIS Executive Secretary, Vivian Bellonwu-Okafor, Head, Social Action, argued that Buhari’s stance was abnormal and conflicts with his anti-graft policy.

“The reported recall of the NHIS Chief by the President Muhammadu Buhari without regard or recourse to both the allegations leveled against him or the weighty panel of enquiry set up to investigate same, is a sad commentary on the administrations allowed anti -corruption principle.

“Under normal circumstances as in other sane societies, public official or officials accused of corruption promptly step aside without waiting for any compulsion to allow for thorough investigation into the allegations leveled against them. It is a known fact that unbridled acts of corruption presently go on, on daily basis on virtually all sectors of the country, even with the administrations zero tolerance for corruption.

“And so such isolated instances where moves were made to checkmate corruption instead of being encouraged and pursued to logical conclusion is rather being repudiated and worse still by no less a person than the president of the country himself. It since indeed quite saddening and such acts not only rubbishes the said anti-corruption principle but also emboldens other individuals and entities to embark on or carry on corrupt acts without any fear of repercussion.

“The president needs to as a matter of urgency retrace his steps. He should not be seen to be brazenly undermining a minister who is performing his duties in accordance with his statutory powers and due process all in a bid to satisfy certain entrenched interest.

“The process of investigation of this alleged malpractices therefore need to continue on course and taken to a logical conclusion. This way, Nigerians would hope to begin to get some value in the National Health Insurance Scheme as well as begin to look at the government’s anti-corruption mantra with some positive outlook,” she observed.

…Reinstatement of NHIS boss is in order – Eze Onyekpere

Also reacting to the development, another legal mind and financial analyst, Eze Onyekpere, noted that the President was right in reinstating the NHIS boss stressing that people want to use anti-corruption blackmail to stop the NHIS boss from doing the good work that he is doing.

Onyekpere, who is the Lead Director Centre for Social Justice said “my understanding is that the man is doing a good job at the NHIS. Whatever politics that was involved in his suspension and his being recalled by the President,   I don’t see anything extraordinary.  If there is a case against him, they should prosecute him but if not he should continue doing his work, which I think he is doing well.

“He came to make the system work, because that NHIS has been there for many years nobody heard about it.  He came to clean up the place and before we knew it, he was accused of corruption and accusing somebody of corruption has become blackmail in Nigeria recently. The issue is that if somebody is corrupt, don’t blackmail the person, charge him to court. So I think that what the president did was right.

“So if the EFCC has not been able to come out with any major findings against Yusuf since July last year, then I think it is blackmail.  You cannot keep somebody in suspension perpetually in the name of anti-corruption.”

 

Innocent Odoh, Abuja