An Anti-corruption group, Integrity Youth Alliance has challenged some faceless groups under the auspices of “Concern Enrollees Network of Nigeria” to come out to prove the source of fake documents published to tarnish the image of the hard working Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole and former acting Executive Secretary of the country’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Mr. Femi Akingbade over a corruption petition alleging misappropriation of NHIS funds to the tone of 1.298,149,965 Naira, an equivalent of about $5m US dollar.
In a press release by the National Coordinator of the Integrity Youth Alliance in Abuja on Thursday, Kelvin Adegbenga said from the Alliance investigation, those documents were forged as the dates on them shows that the present Minister has not been appointed as at then.
“We have investigated independently and can authoritatively say that no Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were bought and no house bought in Asokoro or any part of Abuja. The attempt by some unscrupulous elements to blackmail the Minister of Health’s high rising profile has failed.
“It is on record that the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole is a man of integrity and his records are there for all to see right from the University of Ibadan as Vice Chancellor, Adegbenga said.
“How on earth could someone say that the Minister of Health siphoned N100,000,000.00 to purchase two range rover jeeps under this administration that is fighting hard to put an end to endemic corruption? The Concern Enrollees Network of Nigeria allegations are baseless and without any iota of truth.
“We challenge them apart from the petition to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), to show their faces with the documents to substantiate the following: Purchase of five bedroom flats in Asokoro of Abuja for N400, 000,000.00 for the Minister; expended N10, 000,000.00 on allowance on a shady committee they created for a single sitting; bribery of some NHIS staff union members to the tone of N2, 800,000 to cover up corruption e.t.c.
“We called on the Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole not to be distracted but continue to support the anti-corruption campaign of this administration in the Health sector as he has performed outstandingly in the past two years of the Buhari’s administration,” the group said.
