Accountability Tsunami: Namadi Orders All Recovered Pandemic Funds Paid Back to State”

Jigawa State Governor, Umar Namadi, has approved the enrollment of all his aides and other political appointees into the Jigawa State Contributory Health Management Agency (JICHMA), as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen universal health coverage and guarantee access to essential medical services.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Arewa PUNCH gathered that the initiative is designed to bolster the state’s health insurance framework and ensure that political office holders enjoy seamless, quality healthcare.

Speaking on behalf of the governor during the official launch of the enrollment exercise on Friday, the Secretary to the State Government, Bala Ibrahim, explained that recent amendments to the JICHMA law paved the way for political office holders to be included in the scheme.

He urged all appointees to take advantage of the opportunity and complete their registration within the stipulated period. To lead by example, Bala Ibrahim and the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Senator Mujitaba Muhammad, were the first to be formally registered.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim, disclosed that JICHMA had already enrolled 500 vulnerable persons from each of the state’s 287 political wards, noting that all beneficiaries are digitally captured and stored in a central database.

Also speaking, JICHMA’s Executive Secretary, Hamza Maigari, confirmed that logistics for the enrollment of political appointees across the 27 local government areas were already in place. He appealed through the SSG’s office for all appointees to embrace the scheme, emphasizing that it underscores government’s commitment to their welfare.

Maigari stressed that including political appointees in JICHMA will deliver wide‑ranging benefits, ensuring they and their families have access to essential healthcare.

The initiative, coordinated by Isah Sirajo, Technical Adviser on Health to the Governor, is expected to significantly improve the well‑being of political appointees and further entrench Governor Namadi’s vision of making healthcare accessible to all strata of society.