By Sani Adamu Musa

The Bauchi State Government has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting justice and transparency in financial management at the local government level, stressing the benefits this brings to citizens, particularly at the grassroots.

The State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Isah Babayo Tilde, made this known through the Senior Special Assistant on Local Government, Comrade Hashimu Muhammad Gital, while declaring open a two-day sensitization workshop for local government financial managers held at Hazibal Hotel, Bauchi.

The workshop, which brought together Local Government Directors of Budget, Planning, Research and Statistics, Deputy Directors, and Chief Accountants, aimed to enhance financial accountability and effective economic planning at the local level.

Tilde noted that the administration of Governor Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad remains committed to improving the capacity of financial managers across the state through continuous training and retraining, emphasizing that the initiative would strengthen the synergy between the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and local government financial managers to ensure the proper utilization of public funds.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Barrister Saratu Jibrin, represented by the Director of Administration and Human Resources, Isyaka Tijjani Bello, described budgeting and planning as the backbone of sound economic management and urged participants to apply the knowledge gained from the workshop to improve financial practices in their respective local governments.

In her remarks, the Acting Director of Budget and Economic Planning at the Ministry, Hajia Aishatu Sa’idu Abubakar, said the workshop was organized to equip participants with updated knowledge in budgeting, research, statistics, and planning, expressing optimism that the insights gained would contribute to effective financial management in the state.

The Permanent Secretary of the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Jibrin Yusuf, highlighted the strong collaboration between his ministry and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, describing the workshop as timely given the current global economic challenges.