USMAN YUSUF ACCUSES TINUBU GOVT OF TARGETING HIM OVER ANTI-CORRUPTION STANCE AT NHIS
Meanwhile, In a bombshell statement titled “Standing Firm For What Is Right”, Prof. Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has detailed what he describes as a sustained and politically backed campaign to destroy his reputation for standing against corruption. He claimed that his recent encounter with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was a continuation of an old war waged by corrupt Health Maintenance Organisations (HMOs) and their allies in government who opposed his efforts to clean up the NHIS.
Yusuf recounted attempts to sideline him through petitions, media attacks, and National Assembly hearings, and said his audience with former President Muhammadu Buhari helped reaffirm his commitment to integrity. He revealed that a forensic audit he commissioned during his tenure uncovered over N100 billion of NHIS funds that remained unremitted by commercial banks, despite directives to move such funds to the Treasury Single Account. He said the EFCC under Ibrahim Magu recovered billions based on documents he provided and expressed disappointment at the current EFCC leadership’s alleged failure to acknowledge this history.
Yusuf warned that Nigeria’s healthcare system is collapsing, with hospitals in dire condition, workers fleeing abroad, and millions unable to afford medication. He blamed the decay on hijacked financing structures and called on the Tinubu administration to make recovering trapped NHIS funds a national priority.
