By Felix Khanoba
Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Bomai’s rise from a modest background to the exclusive club of the Nation’s top ranking bureaucrats is a study in consistency, dedication, dynamism, honesty and hardwork. Beginning his career from lowly ranks as a Finance Officer of Borno Agricultural Development Project, BOADAP, he has risen within three decades to become the current Director of Treasury, DOT of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Abuja.
There is little doubt that Bomai possesses all the qualities of an exceptional public servant, a role model and a patriotic pubic officer whose wealth of solid experience and versatility has impacted positively on the services of the FCTA since he assumed office as the DOT in 2012.
Not one to sit on past glories, his proactive nature equally propelled him to acquire as he climbs to the topmost rung, strings of academic and professional qualifications, plus membership of several top notch professional bodies which enhanced his rise in the civil service.
A cross sample of opinion from his colleagues equate him as an embodiment of humility, a personality propelled by painstakingness, doggedness and integrity. A man who insists that the burden of public trust imposed on civil servants demand that they exhibit truth, justice and fairness in delivering quality service to the society.
Chief Emmanuel Ehikwe, chairman, Indigenous Contractors Association who had interacted with Bomai for several decades describes the top civil servant as a man synonymous with honesty. “He conducts himself with integrity and regards integrity with total seriousness, which he once narrated to me as virtues imparted in him by his parents who insists that a person must be honest and be of good character, virtues that are above material acquisitiveness.
“The Director of Finance has severally gone out of his way to assist the local contractors, who are often under-rated in the scheme of affairs”
Bomai, who prefers to operate without fanfare reveals that the secret ingredient to his success is honesty and hard work. He stressed that since he started his civil service career in Maiduguri, he has strived to do his work excellently and has never been issued with any query but had been showered with commendations from his immediate bosses.
To-date, he has worked with six Ministers and since 2008, he has made the FCTA to become the only Ministry in the Federation with up to date financial reports.
He gave an insight why he enjoys the clean bill of probity in the FCTA, a ministry where many top officials had been indicted for one form of misdemeanor or another. He explained that he makes no input in contract awards, while payment that passes through his office are duly approved by superior officers.
It is therefore not surprising that he has not been found wanting by any panel of constituted authority in his official assignments for the 32 years he has spent in service. On the other hand, he has over 12 letter of commendation letters for excellence and good job networking from different superiors he worked under.
One of such recommendations was given him by the Governing Council of the Federal College of Education, Potiskum where he served first as Assistant Chief Accountant, acting Bursar and later Bursar from 1993 to 2002. The Council commended him for ‘excellent preparation of budget, good work and maintenance of very good records of finances of the College’
Other commendations have come from different quarters especially since 2002 when he relocated to Abuja as an Asst. Director with the FCTA.
Expressing his opinion on the Financial Statements of the FCTA prepared by Bomai for the year ended December 31, 2013, the Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. S. T. Ukura, OFR, FCA states: “I have obtained the information and explanations that I required and as a result of my audit, in my opinion, the accounting books and records were properly maintained so as to form the basis for the Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31st December, 2013 and the Consolidated Revenue Fund together with the supporting Statements for the year ended on that date. In my opinion, the Financial Notes give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the FCTA AS AT 31ST December, 2013 and of the financial transactions for the fiscal year ended on that date subject to the observations contained in my Domestic Report”
Bomai trained as an accountant at The Polytechnic, Kaduna and capped it with a Post-Graduate diploma, (Financial Management) and Master in Business Administration, (Finance) respectively at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi and Harvard University, Cambridge, Boston, United States of America, USA
In his working life, Bomai, having displayed a high degree of integrity, rectitude, and reliability, had been honoured with the Fellowship and membership of several prestigious professional bodies and institutes. Some of these include: Fellow, The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, ANAN; Fellow, The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria; Fellow Chartered Institute of Treasury Management of Nigeria.
A recipient of several awards including Best Performing Director of the year at the FCTA, he also holds membership cards of Nigeria Institute of Management, NIM; Institute of Management Specialists, United Kingdom; and Nigerian Institute of Management Consultants.
Born on February 10, 1960 in Maiduguri, Borno state, Bomai hails from Potiskum, Yobe state and has held sensitive positions such as Deputy Director, Auditor General for FCT area councils until when he was appointed to the post of Director of Treasury FCTA in 2008.
He has handled many sensitive assignments successfully and continues to acquaint himself creditably despite the challenges he met at the finance department being the first Treasury Director at the FCTA. Since his assumption as DOT, FCTA Treasury has benefited immensely from his wide academic and professional competencies.
Bomai has served as either chairman, secretary or member of several technical or ad-hoc committees either at the Federal level or FCTA.
Significantly, he is the National Co-ordinator, Committee of Auditors-General of Local Governments in Nigeria; member, Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC and member, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria
Indeed, this highly energetic young man brought to FCTA a rich professional and academic experience garnered from working in several other organizations thus his ability to give a good account of himself in FCTA Treasury despite usual constraints and challenges of the civil service and in other national assignments
