Employees of the National Health Insurance Scheme, under the aegis of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria and the Joint Health Sector Union, on Thursday paralysed activities at the NHIS over the resumption of the controversially reinstated Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf.
They demanded his immediate removal minutes after Yusuf resumed at the headquarters of the agency in Abuja.
The protesters sang songs of deviance, saying the reinstatement of Yusuf would thwart his investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The unionists said the secretary’s recall makes a mockery of President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, describing his recall as ‘Yusufgate’.
The Chairman of the NHIS arm of the union, Mr. Razaq Omomeji told journalists that the protests would continue until Buhari reversed Yusuf’s reinstatement.
According to him, Yusuf had bastardised the scheme and his return would only worsen affairs at the agency.
Meanwhile, the opposition party, The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday described Yusuf’s reinstatement by presiden Muhammadu Buhari as shocking, scandalous and a mockery of justice.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in statement on Wednesday, said the Presidency stinks of corruption and has lost all claim of fighting graft, as long as it continues to protect indicted officials of the APC administration.
The party said it was disgusting that the same Presidency brandishing a medal of ‘African Union Anti-Corruption Champion’ would short-circuit the processes, arm-twist anti-graft agencies and pull out an indicted government official, while he was still guest at the EFCC where he was being grilled for his alleged maleficence.
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