Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called for immediate reconstitution of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) board to drive the health insurance initiative across the country.

NECA Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, made the call in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, following the legislation on universal health coverage by the federal government.

He said, “We are worried that after the appointment of the chairman of the board by the president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, the board would have been reconstituted.

“The delay, after many weeks, is a disservice not only to the scheme, but also to the teeming Nigerians who are meant to benefit from the NHIA. Governance issues should not be treated with kid gloves, as the board’s statutory role is being compromised.’’

Mr Oyerinde said that more worrisome was the violation of the NHIA Act that created the board and allocated specific responsibilities to it.

He, therefore, urged the minister of health to ‘expeditiously’ reconstitute the board for the sake of the scheme’s long-term sustainability.

President Bola Tinubu had in March announced the appointment of Ibrahim Oloriegbe as chairman of NHIA.

The appointment of Mr Oloriegbe, a former senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, which took effect from March 11, is for an initial term of four years. 

(NAN)