Workers at the National Health Insurance Scheme on Thursday temporarily grounded activities at the head office of the agency in Abuja, demanding the reversal of the controversial reinstatement of the Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf.
The outraged workers condemned President Muhammadu Buhari for the reinstatement of Yusuf, who was suspended by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, for fraud-related offences.
The unionists, who sang protest songs, said the reinstatement of Yusuf would thwart his investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The protesters, who described the reinstatement saga as ‘Yusufgate,’ said it was a mockery of Buhari’s anti-corruption war.
Addressing journalists on the premises of the agency, the Chairman of the NHIS arm of the union, Mr. Razaq Omomeji, said the protests would continue until Buhari reversed Yusuf’s reinstatement.
He said, “Our presence is to jointly endorse the position of the Secretary-General of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria on the reinstatement of Prof. Usman Yusuf. We demand and urge the President and the Federal Government to reverse the reinstatement if they want to have peace and industrial harmony.
“We are a law-abiding people and we have never in the history of the NHIS, created any problem for anyone. But the reinstatement of Prof. Yusuf will cause chaos in the scheme.
“They should allow the man to be cleared by the EFCC before he is allowed to resume. We can help them in investigating the man.”
Omomeji said the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress were looking into the matter, adding that the NHIS boss had done nothing but described workers as thieves.
“His first action when he took over the affairs of the scheme showed that he had no plan for the agency. He appointed a lady born in 1984 to Level 15. She was at Level 9 at the EFCC before she was brought here. Imagine that!”
Also speaking, Mr. Aina Benjamin, who is the Secretary of the Medical and Health Workers Union, NHIS branch, said Yusuf would launch a revenge attack on all the whistle-blowers in the agency and therefore called on Buhari to remove him.
“He is coming here to fight back and there is no way he would not come here with his own agenda and then the agency would not be able to progress and that is why we are asking the President to reverse this reinstatement,” Benjamin said.
He rubbished claims that the panel set up by the ministry to investigate Yusuf was not well constituted.
When asked if the workers would embark on strike if the President refused to remove Usman, he said, “We will wait for our national secretariat on the next line of action.”
