“NHIA Boss Defends MP Against Sabotage Claims, Calls Allegations Baseless”

Story by Fada Amakye

The District Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in North Dayi, Mr. Edem Sebastian, has dismissed claims that Member of Parliament for the area, Hon. Joycelyn Tetteh Quashie, is sabotaging President John Dramani Mahama through a rebranded health initiative.

Mr. Sebastian described the reports as “completely misleading” and “intended to create Qu unnecessary tension between the MP and the president.” According to him, the MP’s initiative, dubbed “Free Health Insurance Renewal and Registration Exercise,” is a personal intervention aimed at supporting her constituents and is distinct from President Mahama’s Free Primary Healthcare Agenda.

Speaking to journalists, Mr. Sebastian accused the faceless authors of the allegations of attempting to undermine the Authority’s mass registration exercise, which has benefited significantly from the MP’s sponsorship and collaboration. He noted that the MP’s intervention came at a critical time when residents were reluctant or unable to pay for registration, threatening the Authority’s performance indicators.

Mr. Sebastian revealed that the MP had offered to sponsor free registration and renewal for her constituents, and this was not the first time she had done so. He expressed shock that the MP’s goodwill gesture had been “twisted” in the media to tarnish her reputation.

The NHIA boss singled out The Campaigner newspaper, which first published the story, for failing to cite credible sources or provide verifiable evidence. “The newspaper didn’t attribute the allegation to anyone. That alone shows the story was fabricated,” he stressed.

Mr. Sebastian suggested that the publication might have been motivated by internal political rivalry, warning against dragging the NHIA into partisan disputes. “I suspect this is an internal party issue. We are a state institution and must not be drawn into any political squabbles that could derail our work,” he said.