From Kemi Yesufu, Abuja
The House of Representatives, yesterday, drew the battle line with the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole over the festering controversy concerning the National Insurance Health Scheme, NHIS.
According to the Chike Okafor-led House Committee on Health Services, until the minister appears before the committee to explain the reason for the suspension of the former Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Prof. Usman Yusuf, there would be no consideration of the budget of the agency. The committee made the resolution against the backdrop of the receipt of a letter from the minister where he specifically stated that he would not appear before it.
“The House resolution was communicated to the health minister and if you look through our proceedings, you will see that we were expecting the minister to come tomorrow (today) to give us an update on the crisis rocking the NHIS.
“But incidentally, I got a letter from him about an hour ago, saying he will not be available to appear before this committee. He gave a couple of reasons, which I would still relate to the Committee when we dissolve into an executive session.”
“Suffice to say that the reasons are not acceptable to me. I was going to direct that we send a letter back to him as he claimed in his letter that he has engagements that will take him out of Abuja or that he is already out of Abuja”, Okafor said. Okafor’s intervention was unanimously adopted.