Katsina BPP Decries Acute Shortage Of Professional Procurement Officers

The Katsina State Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has raised concern over what it described as a critical shortage of professional procurement officers, saying the situation is hampering its ability to effectively discharge its statutory responsibilities.

The Director-General of the Bureau Badamasi Ya’u Yantumaki, made the complaint while presenting the agency’s proposed 2027 budget before the State Budget Preference Committee, lamenting that the bureau currently operates with only the Director-General as a substantive procurement professional.

According to the DG, other personnel serving in the bureau are officers seconded from various ministries, departments and agencies, while the remaining workforce consists of casual employees.

He said the shortage of trained procurement officers has persisted despite the Bureau’s growing responsibilities in ensuring transparency, accountability and compliance with public procurement regulations across government institutions.

The DG disclosed that the issue had already been brought to the attention of Governor Dikko Umaru Radda and that discussions were ongoing to address the manpower gap.

He explained that the bureau intends to identify officers who meet the minimum qualifications for procurement duties, after which they would undergo professional training in collaboration with relevant authorities before being redeployed to the Bureau.

He appealed for the government’s continued support in strengthening the bureau’s workforce, noting that building a professional procurement cadre would improve the efficiency of public procurement processes and enhance value for money in government projects.

Responding, Chairman of the Budget Preference Committee, Malik Anas, said the issue had been deliberated extensively by the Executive Council, which approved the creation of a professional procurement cadre and outlined measures for recruiting and training officers.

He explained that the council had agreed that procurement should be a specialised profession, with qualified officers undergoing conversion training before being deployed to ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as procurement officers.

Anas stressed that the committee could not reverse or reopen a decision already taken by the Executive Council, saying, “A decision of the council is already on this matter, and this committee cannot override it. As chairman of this committee, I forbid further discussion on that particular issue.”

He, however, directed the Bureau of Public Procurement to submit a formal establishment proposal indicating the number of staff it requires so that the personnel costs could be captured in the 2027 budget pending the completion of the recruitment and training process.

The committee also advised the bureau to phase its staffing requests rather than seeking all required personnel at once.

Members said the phased approach would enable the government to gradually recruit, train and deploy qualified procurement officers in line with available resources and the state’s manpower development plan.