By Nafisa Shehu Ibrahim CHR Executive Administrator.
The Monthly Policy and Budget Roundtable Discussion for December 2025 was held yesterday, 29th December 2025, at the AHBN Office, Kano.
This fourth edition is part of the activities organized to celebrate Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR) at 25 years of promoting accountability, good governance, and improved health outcomes in Nigeria.
The roundtable brought together key stakeholders from government institutions, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), development partners, and the media.
The session began with a welcome address by the Executive Administrator of CHR, Nafisa Shehu Ibrahim. She warmly welcomed the guest speaker and participants, highlighting the importance of the dialogue as part of CHR’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
She encouraged participants to contribute actively, assuring that the insights shared would lead to practical actions that will advance progress in Kano State and across Nigeria.
The Board Chairman of CHR, Dr. Musa Muhammad Bello, delivering his opening remarks, stress the importance of sustained civic engagement in strengthening governance and accountability.
Following his remarks, several stakeholders shared goodwill messages. They congratulated CHR on achieving this important milestone and commended its consistent dedication to transparency, accountability, and improved health outcomes across Nigeria.
The topic for discussion at the roundtable was “Synergy with CSOs in Strengthening Inclusive Public Procurement & Project Monitoring in Kano State.”
The guest speaker, Honourable Commissioner for Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Kano State, Hon. Nura Iro Ma’aji, represented by his Technical Adviser, Dr. Sani Safiyanu, from the Department of Political Science, Bayero University Kano.
In his presentation, Dr. Safiyanu explained that public procurement is central to ensuring taxpayers’ money is used efficiently.
He emphasized that procurement laws, including the Kano State Public Procurement Law 2022 (as amended), were designed to promote transparency, fairness, and value for money in public spending.
Additionally, he noted that the law applies to all government institutions using state funds, including MDAs, local government councils, state corporations, and agencies involved in the disposal of public assets or Public Private Partnership arrangements.
Dr. Safiyanu also emphasized the important roles that CSOs must play in ensuring accountability and protecting public interest.
These roles include: overseeing the procurement process from advertisement to contract award, requesting access to procurement records, budgets, and audit documents for public scrutiny, monitoring project implementation across the state, engaging both independently and collaboratively with relevant government agencies on oversight activities, ensuring compliance with state procurement guidelines and legal frameworks, advocating for better adherence to procurement policies and budget priorities, and promoting the full utilization of the Integrated Digital Procurement System to reduce inefficiencies.
He further emphasized that collaboration between CSOs and government authorities is key to achieving accountability, quality service delivery, and sustainable development in Kano State. When government and civic actors work closely together, public projects are more likely to succeed and deliver meaningful benefits to communities.
Dr. Safiyanu also stated that the Kano State Ministry of Public Procurement, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation is fully committed to strengthening collaboration with CSOs and development partners.
The Ministry aims to create more platforms for dialogue, ensure transparent sharing of information, and actively participate in joint monitoring of project implementation.
He reiterated that such partnerships are crucial for the efficient use of public resources, effective policy implementation, and ensuring citizens benefit fully from government projects.
The event concluded with rich discussions, deliberations, and actionable recommendations. Clear next steps were identified, and stakeholders assured that these would be translated into concrete actions to benefit the people of Kano State and Nigeria as a whole.
