The Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) has announced plans to strike out enrollees who failed to register with their National Identification Numbers (NIN), describing such beneficiaries as “ghosts” under the system.
Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of RIVCHPP, Dr. Vetty Agala, revealed this during a management briefing in Port Harcourt recently.
She explained that although the NIN requirement had always been part of the registration process, the agency had earlier allowed some flexibility to increase participation.
According to her, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), which oversees the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), has reinforced the directive that all enrollees must provide their NIN.
She cautioned that anyone who fails to comply would be removed from the BHCPF segment of the programme by the end of September 2025.
Dr. Agala further stated that the remuneration of enrolment officers will now depend strictly on the number of persons they capture with a valid NIN. “tell the enrolment officers that vulnerable persons who are registered without a NIN are considered as ghosts by NHIA which provides the BHCPF. We can’t pay them for supplying us ghosts as our enrollees,” she said.
Read Also: FCTA enrolls 198,810 in health scheme, covers 10,065 pregnant women free
She also warned against the enrolment of individuals who do not qualify as vulnerable under the scheme, stressing that only groups such as children under five, the elderly, and other identified categories are eligible for free healthcare services funded by the BHCPF.
Those outside the vulnerable bracket, she said, must subscribe through alternative packages.
While issuing stern warnings to defaulting officers, Dr. Agala appealed to families, community groups, and organisations to support people around them in securing their NIN.
She noted that doing so would ensure continued access to the healthcare opportunities provided by RIVCHPP.
