NAPHDA staff urge Nasarawa gov to probe ex-secretary, Adis, for corruption

Some concerned staff of the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA) have called for a thorough investigation into the recent recruitment by Dr. Mohammed Adis before his exit as the Executive Secretary of the agency.

The staff spokesperson, Abdullahi Adamu, made the call, alleging irregularities in the process, and appealed to Governor Abdullahi Sule to carry out a thorough investigation.

They also alleged that the immediate past Executive Secretary flouted the directive by Governor Sule to absorb casual staff and volunteers who had worked as volunteer service staff with the agency for over 15 years in various primary healthcare centres across the state.

“Adis flouted the directive and recruited largely those who are neither volunteers nor casual healthcare staff across the state.

“Some of the newly recruited staff are graduates of the School of Health located in Lafia, which he owned,” the staff further alleged.

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The staff, who commended Governor Sule for prioritizing healthcare delivery, also claimed that five vehicles procured through the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP), a World Bank-assisted project implemented over a period of five years in three states of Ondo, Nasarawa, and Adamawa, have been missing since Dr. Adis’s exit.

The staff further claimed that the additional two Toyota Hilux vehicles provided by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NAPHDA) during the COVID-19 pandemic are also missing.

They also alleged that the then Adis-led management siphoned over ₦200 million provided by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) to clear the six-month outstanding allowances of Community Health Influencers and Promoters Services (CHIPs) agents.

“Dr. Faisal Shuaib, then as the ED/CEO of NPHCDA, is aware of this information and was angry with Dr. Adis. This information made the former ES remove the State Focal Person of the CHIPs Programme in the state for divulging the information to the NPHCDA.

“There is concrete information from all the 147 health facilities receiving Basic Healthcare Provision Funds, where he has forced the Officers in Charge (OIC) of these facilities to withdraw money in cash paid into the facilities to provide services for the vulnerable people enrolled in the State Health Insurance Scheme and bring it to him in cash quarterly. He threatened them with sack if they didn’t comply.

“For those who refused to bring the cash, he removed them as OICs,” the staff further alleged in the statement.

Efforts to reach the immediate past Executive Secretary for comment on the allegations proved abortive.

However, an aide exonerated him from any wrongdoing, describing him as a man of integrity.