SaharaReporters was informed that several petitions have been written against her that she has simply ignored, boasting that she is settling some relevant people who are helping to secure her position.
Mabel Adjekughele, the Executive Secretary of Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) of the Lagos State Ministry of Health has been accused of fraud, illegalities, padding of the agency’s account statement, and polarization of staff.
SaharaReporters was informed that several petitions have been written against her that she has simply ignored, boasting that she is settling some relevant people who are helping to secure her position.
“She told me some people who are close to her that this is her time and she can use it anyhow,” a member of staff of HEFAMAA said. “She also bragged that nobody can touch her because she is settling some people who occupy high positions in the ministry and the state and they do all they can to ensure she remains there.”
Our investigations revealed that one of the senior officers Dr. Adjekughele pays off is the Special Adviser to Governor Ambode on Primary Health Care, Dr. Femi Onanuga, who receives the sum of N500,000 to protect Dr. Adjekughele’s position.
In order to cover the tracks of the money going out, the Executive Secretary embeds the money in the allocation for Press and Special Inspection Fee. That allocation, it was learned, is always over N1m, which covers money paid to the Special Adviser and other top officers in Ministry of Health. Our correspondent further learned that 30% of generated revenue by HEFAMAA is also being used as settlements monthly by Dr. Adjekughele.
It was also discovered that she has successfully stalled the appointment of the Board of HEFAMAA, which is supposed to check and regulate the activities of the agency, with some members of staff of HEFAMAA alleging that the Executive Secretary had connived with Dr. Onanuga to handpick those who make up the board.
“We heard that she collaborated the Special Adviser to the Governor, Dr. Femi Onanuga not to constitute the board and if at all board is constituted, they will influence those that will be in the board to pave way for the continuity of their nefarious act. Both of them are also putting plans together to pick those who they can always pull around.”
Also commenting on what is happening in HEFAMAA, a staff in the agency cited Dr. Adjekughele’s divide-and-rule policy, claiming she placed lower level staff over senior and more experienced ones.
“The cadre among members of staffs has been completely tampered with. The level seven or eight officers under her administration head and supervises team that has level fourteen and fifteen officers. Professionals in the agency are relating and working with suspicion because of her policies of divide and rule which is setting one professional body against another.”
Another aggrieved staff denounced her administration’s policies that, it is said, could speedily lead to the incapacitation and subsequent collapse of the agency.
“She has taken over the functions of some agencies who are under her and this has given room for exploitation. She determines who gets to work in the agency which is not part of her work description. Because of this and some other policies which she had put in place, the rate of corruption and exploitation in HEFAMAA has skyrocketed and this is decreasing work rate in the agency. If this continues, I am very sure, HEFAMAA will cease to function as a vibrant agency which it is.”
When our correspondent contacted Dr. Adjekughele, she refused to comment on the issue.
“I am a government person and I don’t grant interviews or discussions except when I am permitted to do it,” she said. “Come to the Ministry and I will answer all your questions.”
