The embattled Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, has admitted before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives that a company owned by his brother won a N46million contract in 2016.
The brother’s name is Mohammed Kabir-Yar’Adua.
The Ad Hoc Committee was set up to investigate the crisis and operations of the NHIS.
Yusuf was crossed-examined over an allegation made by NHIS workers’ unions that the ES awarded contracts in excess of N508m “without due process.”
But, the Yusuf told the committee, which is chaired by Mr Nicholas Ossai, that his brother “is a Nigerian, and his company won the contract after open, public bidding.”
He denied to have influenced the award of the contract, adding that he also did not know at the time that the firm applied for the contract.
Yusuf is already on administrative leave, following allegations of financial services infractions levelled against him by the Governing Council of the NHIS.
He claimed that he incurred the wrath of the Health Maintenance Organisations because he came to expose corruption in the NHIS.
He told the panel which is chaired by Mr Nicholas Ossai, “HMO cartels are behind all these issues at the NHIS, they are untouchable and they are behind threats to my life and security.”