Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has assured the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) of its readiness to release the Scheme’s recovered funds in the Commission’s custody, which it has been safeguarding.
EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, disclosed the this in Abuja when he hosted NHIS Executive Secretary Prof. Mohammed Sambo, who led other officials on a courtesy visit.
NHIS spokesman, Ayo Osinlu, in statement released in Abuja on Saturday, explained that the EFCC recently assisted the Scheme to recover its funds from certain officials and institutions that had improper custody of them.
He said the EFCC Acting Chairman reassured the NHIS that the funds were kept in safe custody of the Commission because it needed concrete assurance of due process, transparency and accountability in the further handling of the funds.
The EFCC boss advised NHIS management to intensify efforts at value reorientation to deepen the moral tone of staff and stakeholders in the Scheme
Magu described the NHIS as a very helpful institution in healthcare financing, citing pleasant examples from his personal experience together with his family as enrollees of the health insurance scheme.
Earlier, NHIS Executive Secretary Prof. Sambo explained that his visit was to appeal to the EFCC to release the funds it assisted the Scheme in recovering from unlawful possession.
The urgency in pushing for its release, Sambo said, is due to the dwindling resources of the NHIS.
He promised to professionalise operations of the Scheme by strengthening state offices to be able to effectively manage operations at that level where much of the work is done.