NHIS Distances Self From HMO Fraud Allegations
By Wale Abydeen// The National Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has described the discovery of fraud in the operations of one of the Health Maintenance Organisations (HMO) as an ugly but new trend that must be avoided in nearest future.
Two persons were said to have been arrested in connection to the fraud. One of the arrested persons is said to be a staff of Clearline International Limited, a popular HMO in Nigeria.
A statement signed by NHIS spokesperson, Ayo Osinlu stated that the seriousness of this crime, the huge sum of money involved, and the reference to NHIS’ account being hacked in the process have compelled the Scheme to clarify that the NHIS has no account anywhere else outside the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
NHIS therefore countered it is not possible, or true, that the perpetrators of this heinous crime hacked into the account of NHIS in this act.
Osinlu stated further that the spirit of the Scheme’s ongoing rebranding reforms, of which Transparency and Accountability is a major factor, a Management Committee has been constituted the day after the crime was reported, to ascertain the veracity of the allegations, the actual sum involved and the circumstances that facilitated the commission of the crime, among other terms of reference.
HHIS however reassures Nigerians and in particular its stakeholders that “it will not tolerate any breach of trust or guidelines under its operations, while we also remain committed to the ongoing reforms aimed at repositioning the agency as a result-oriented and socially-responsible public institution”.
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