Dasuki hands over finance ministry, extols Tambuwal for getting World Bank’s $55m grant for Sokoto

Former Sokoto State Commissioner for Finance, Abdussamad Dasuki, has formally handed over the Ministry to the Permanent Secretary, Dahiru Balarabe Abbas.

At the handover ceremony were the Accountant General, Umar B. Balarabe; Deputy Accountant General, Musa Mohammad Maccido; Director Debt Management, Murtala Umar Dogondaji; and Director Funds, Aliyu Abubakar Dange.

Dasuki, who took over the affairs of the Ministry in 2019, had earlier tendered his resignation in March in compliance with the Electoral Act. He recently returned from a foreign trip to formally hand over to the Permanent Secretary.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, the former commissioner extolled Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s sterling leadership, which has placed Sokoto in good stead for rapid growth and development. 

Dasuki, who is the Santuraki of Sokoto, said with the prudent management of the resources of the state by the Tambuwal administration, laudable reforms executed by the finance ministry and various legacy projects across the state, Sokoto was better positioned to compete favorably for investments and to meet the aspirations of its people.
 
The former commissioner said he feels fulfilled that he was handing over a reformed ministry that played a key role in the various reforms executed by the current administration. 

He said with the reforms initiated and executed, the Ministry was adequately prepared to continue to lead the way in the development agenda of the state government.

He recalled that at the inception of the Tambuwal administration, government finances were at the lowest ebb due to low FAAC inflow, weak Internally Revenue Generation, abandoned and unpaid capital projects and gratuity liabilities. 

“It was these and many others that the government had to grapple with at inception,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Finance, whose sole responsibility is the management of public finance, disbursement, execution of financial policies and management of public debt and securities, was consequently saddled with the responsibility of reversing this ugly trend.

“Faced with these challenges, he said the Tambuwal administration came up with strategies to reform the public finance to ensure prudent management of resources, blocked loopholes in the state payroll and instituted a regime of transparency and accountability in public finance. 

Dasuki said those reforms boosted the state’s cash inflow and paved way for the provision of developmental projects across Sokoto.

He said the reforms of the state finances also received recognitions from major institutions, including a grant of $33 million in three years and expecting another $22 million before the end of 2022 from the World Bank for commitment to implementing the States Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme following its impressive score in the SFTAS ranking so far, placing it among the top three states in the country to achieve such ranking. 

The former commissioner thanked Governor Tambuwal for the opportunity to serve at the helm of affairs of the finance ministry for three years, adding that he is confident that the achievements recorded by the ministry has placed Sokoto on the front row of states that has reformed their finance sector for optimal performance.