The Zamfara State Local Government Service Commission, in collaboration with the Abuja Institute of Leadership and Business Management, has conducted a three-day training workshop for 42 cashiers, internal auditors, and Account/Expenditure officers on effective procurement, financial management, and good governance across the fourteen local governments and the State.

The executive chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Aminu Aliyu Mafara, who spoke through the Auditor for Local Government, Alhaji Aminu Mammaga, made the statement during the workshop held at the Commission multipurpose hall in Gusau.

He further stated that the Local Government, being the tier of government closest to the people, plays a critical role in delivering essential services and promoting grassroots development, adding that to effectively discharge the responsibility, public funds must be managed prudently, transparently, accountably, and in accordance with approved laws, regulations, financial procedures, and
guidelines.

Mafara urged participants to take full advantage of the opportunity and participate actively in all the sessions, ask relevant questions, share their professional experiences, and learn from the facilitators and one another.

“The knowledge and skills acquired during the workshop should be translated into improved performance and better financial management practices in respective Local Government Areas”, he added.

Declaring the workshop open at a ceremony by the State Head of Service, Alhaji Yakubu Sani Haidara, MNI, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Establishment and Human Resources Development Department, Brr. Suwaiba Ibrahim Mafara, said that the quality of financial administration at the
Local Government Councils level, therefore, depends, to a significant extent, on the competence and professional conduct of these officers.

He also said that, it is against this background that the important development currently taking place in the financial administration of the State Government, adding that the State is presently undertaking a transition from a paper-based financial management system to a paperless system, with the transition expected to be completed by the end of August 2026.

In their separate remarks, the Secretary of the Commission, Brr. Shafi’u Bukhari, the Chairman, House Committee, Local Government Services Commission, Hon. Hamisu A Faru, who was represented by the Committee Secretary, Hon. Yusuf Sabo Tsafe, said that competitive procurement is required, and qualified suppliers and Contractors should receive a fair opportunity to participate in accordance with the law, adding that the Specifications should be clear, objective and related to the actual requirement and must not be deliberately designed to favour a particular contractor or supplier.

They also highlighted that procurement officers must avoid conflicts of interest, collusion, manipulation and other practices capable of undermining public confidence; all relevant procurement records should be properly maintained to provide an adequate audit trail. A transparent process protects the Local
Government, the public officer and the
the public interest.

In his good will massage, the Chief Executive Officer of the Abuja Institute of Leadership and Business Management, Dr. Yomi O. Charles, who was represented by the Managing Director of the organization, Alhaji Faruk Umar, explained that the Local Government is the closest tier of government to the people.

“It is where governance touches lives directly. But that closeness also comes with scrutiny. If there is waste in procurement, if financial records are not transparent, if due process is ignored, the people feel it first at the LGA level.”