NHIS is no longer in its old form, says ES

Mohammed Sambo, executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), says the scheme is no longer in its old “characteristics.”

Sambo said this on Wednesday while speaking at a meeting of the scheme with enrollees and healthcare providers in Abuja

The NHIS was embroiled in a corruption scandal that led to the sack of Usman Yusuf, the former ES, by President Muhammadu Buhari in July.

Before his sack, Isaac Adewole, immediate past minister of health, had suspended Yusuf over allegations of corruption levelled against him.

He returned but he was suspended again. On July 1, the president appointed Sambo in his place.

Speaking at the event, Sambo said the NHIS has “been bedevilled with some problems.”

“NHIS is no longer in its old characteristics. A lot has been going in repositioning the scheme. NHIS over sometime has been bedevilled with some problems until the government had to intervene, interject and ensure that there was a change in leadership which brought me into the leadership of this scheme,” he said.

“Ever since, we assumed office, we have been trying all we can to ensure that we reposition a different NHIS so that is can be able to discharge the responsibility that is vested on her.

“To that end we have been able to come up with a rebranding agenda which has three points; engendering value representation that will reposition the NHIS into a credible result-oriented organisation, engendering transparency and accountability in the entire operations of NHIS.”