By Olukayode Idowu
Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has appointment Baba Bura Usman as the new Accountant General of the state.
The appointment was announced by the Governor’s spokesman, Malam Isa Gusau, in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Baba Bura Usman was, until his appointment, the Director of Treasury Operations at the Borno State Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, he has been in the position since 2020.
According to the statement, the 57 years old Usman who hails from Kaga local government area of the state has over 20 years experience in financial management and internal control systems.
The new accountant general had, since 1990, worked as Accounts’ Assistant with a private firm, Premier Property Dev Co. Ltd, before joining Borno State Civil Service as Senior Accountant deployed to Borno State Council for Arts and Culture, Maiduguri, in 1998.
Usman was Principal Accountant (Expenditure) at the Government House in Maiduguri back in 2001 and was Chief Accountant at the Department of Budget and Planning in 2003, at the Borno State Universal Basic Education in 2010 and at the Borno State Pensions Office in 2017 before he rose to become Director of Borno State Pensions also in 2017, the statement recalled.
In 2018, the statement continued, Usman became the Head of the state’s Project Financial Management Unit (PFMU) and in 2019, he became a Director of Finance & Accounts, retaining headship of the Project Financial Management Unit.
Usman also served at the Borno State Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) before he became Director of Treasury Operations in 2020 until today’s appointment.
The statement noted that the new Accountant General holds a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in Accountancy, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Finance and Masters Degree in Disaster Risk Management & Development Studies, all from the University of Maiduguri.
He also holds a national diploma in accountancy and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Management both from Ramat Polytechnic in Maiduguri.
Usman has attended financial management courses within Nigeria and the United Arab Emirate, and holds certificates in Advanced Financial Management, Information Technology and International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) as well as on computer skills, Gusau also said.
The new Accountant General is a Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) and Fellow of the Association of Chartered System Accountants.
Usman is also a member of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Managements.
The new accountant general takes over from Mai Adamu Ya’u who retired recently.