ABUKARI UMAR & ORS v. NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE AUTHORITY (NHIA)

A.M.DORDZIE J. A.:

FACTS:

By a writ dated 15th June 2015 issued at the Tamale High Court, the appellants herein Abukari Umar and Mohammed Hafiz commenced an action against the respondent, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) for the following reliefs:

1. An order directing the defendant to restore the names of the plaintiffs unto its workers’ payroll to enable them receive their monthly salaries.

2. Recovery of unpaid salaries from 1st May, 2014 to the date when plaintiffs’ names would have been restored unto the payroll.

3. Interest on the unpaid salaries from 1st May 2014 to the date of restoration of plaintiffs’ names to the defendant’s payroll.

4. General damages.

By their statement of claim setting out the facts backing their claim, the plaintiffs maintain that:

a) They are employees of NHIA who were employed on the 2nd of April 2012 as Assistant Claim officers and posted to Savelugu / Nanton District office. Their appointments took effect from 9th of April 2012.

b) They were transferred from Savelugu to Tamale in February 20 14 and in March 2014 their transfer was reviewed and they were sent back to Tamale.

c) As employees they received salaries and allowances until April 2014 when their salaries were stopped.

d) They drew the defendant’s attention to the non-payment of their salaries and received several promises of steps being taken to rectify the situation.

e) The plaintiffs suffered hardship and inconvenience due to the non-payment of their salaries hence their claims as indorsed on the writ of summons.

The defendant resisted these claims and made the following averments in their statement of defence:

i) The plaintiffs have never been employees of the defendant institution

ii) By a directive dated 18th of October 2012 the defendant had directed all regions and districts to halt all recruitments and payment of salaries of staff in the districts.

iii) The former Regional manager of the defendant Rashid Tanko issued appointment letters to the plaintiffs in breach of this directive. He backdated the appointment letters of the plaintiffs from October 2012 to April 2014 with the purpose of overreaching the system.

iv) Moreover the plaintiffs took the appointment while they were national service personnel and drew salaries between April 2012 and April 2014

v) The plaintiffs’ appointments are fraudulent and any actions the plaintiffs took in respect of the said appointments is void.

The defendant particularized the alleged fr