The new Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, has taken charge of business at the Scheme.
Professor Yusuf, who engaged the leadership of the Scheme in two full days of house-keeping and agenda-setting exercise, communicated to his top staff the substance of his presidential mandate at the Scheme, towards ensuring that the management and staff of the Scheme get a clear view of the new order.
Addressing management of the organization, he summarized his mandate, which he described as unambiguous, as refocusing and repositioning NHIS such that it delivers value for all Nigerians.
The Professor of Haematology-Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation said “my mandate at the Scheme is to design and implement strategies and instruments that will make NHIS a good steward of the nation’s commonwealth”, adding that the new process will pointedly have no place for vices and distractions like “corruption, inefficiency, impunity and political patronage”.
Professor Yusuf therefore advised all staff of the Scheme nationwide to gear up for an internal change process that will lead to the evolution of an efficient, dynamic, purposeful, responsible and purpose-minded organization that is well able to address the expectations of all Nigerians, irrespective of social and economic circumstances.
He however said special attention will be accorded to supporting the poor and the vulnerable in the informal sector to be able to access efficient healthcare without financial constraints.
The new NHIS boss, who is a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians, pledged to run an “open, listening and inclusive” administration, while being “fair, just and firm” at all times, even as he promised staff of the Scheme that hard work and excellence will be rewarded.
Affirming his zero tolerance for laziness, gossips, excuses and mediocrity, Professor Yusuf stressed that he will pursue with passion, issues associated with staff welfare, training and capacity building.
Meanwhile, the Professor of Paediatrics has unveiled a seven-week transition programme, highlights of which include presentations from heads of the various departments, meetings with non-management staff of the agency, consultations with leadership and members of trade unions, familiarisation and sensitisation meetings with Zonal and State office Coordinators of the Scheme, engagements with critical stakeholders of the industry, a management retreat to assess the mandate of the Scheme vis-à-vis issues with its rapid progress, for the purpose of charting the way forward.
Also significant in the transition agenda are meetings with committees of the National Assembly with oversight responsibilities for the health sector, as well as partnership building advocacies to media institutions.
In his remarks at a brief handing over ceremony at the end of the 2-day briefing sessions, the former acting Executive Secretary, Mr. ‘Femi Akingbade, assured the new Executive Secretary that NHIS remains the hub of the country’s quest for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), while stating that the Scheme has the potentials for meeting the nation’s expectations.
He thanked management and staff of the Scheme for their cooperation in his 15-months of stewardship as acting head of the agency, while requesting maximum support for the new chief.
