Biographical Citation
Alhaji Ahmed Liman Katagum, OON, is a veteran public administrator, consummate civil servant, and one of the pioneering architects of the administrative foundation of Bauchi State. His distinguished career exemplifies professionalism, institutional loyalty, and sustained commitment to public service in Nigeria.
Born in Liman Katagum, in present-day Bauchi State, Alhaji Ahmed Liman Katagum received his early education in Liman Katagum and Bauchi before proceeding to secondary education in Bauchi. He later attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a Bachelor’s (Honours) degree in Public Administration.
In further preparation for senior leadership in public administration, he undertook advanced professional studies at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Victoria University of Manchester, United Kingdom, and the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America, specializing in management, development administration, and executive leadership.
He began his public service career in 1967 with the Northern Nigerian Government in Kaduna, where he received foundational training in public administration and governance. He subsequently distinguished himself through progressive responsibilities within the civil service of the former Northern and North-Eastern States. His early service included appointments as Assistant Secretary, District Officer, and Divisional Officer, roles in which he demonstrated exceptional administrative competence, discipline, and sound judgment. In recognition of his integrity and character, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1968.
With the creation of Bauchi State in 1976, Alhaji Ahmed Liman Katagum emerged as one of the key administrative officers entrusted with translating the federal directive into a functional state structure. As part of the pioneer leadership team, he was actively involved in the transitional arrangements that facilitated the smooth take-off of the new state.
He contributed to the establishment of core ministries, departments, and agencies, coordinated the deployment and redistribution of civil servants, and helped design administrative procedures, personnel frameworks, and financial controls that ensured stability and continuity in governance. He also served at the Governor’s Office, Cabinet Secretariat, where he provided essential support for executive coordination, policy formulation, and inter-ministerial collaboration.
He served as Permanent Secretary in key ministries, including Health, Education, and Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, contributing significantly to the consolidation of administrative structures and service delivery systems while also playing a central role in setting up operational systems and institutional norms. In recognition of his competence and leadership, he was subsequently appointed Secretary for Administration and Secretary to the Executive Council.
With the inauguration of the civilian administration of the late Governor Abubakar Tatari Ali, he was appointed Secretary to the Bauchi State Government. In this historic capacity, he coordinated government policy, supervised cabinet processes, strengthened executive governance, and laid enduring institutional foundations for Bauchi State.
Upon his statutory retirement in 1986, his wealth of experience and institutional memory continued to be called upon in the service of Bauchi State. He served as a Director on the Board of the Bauchi State Publishing and Printing Company. He was appointed Permanent Commissioner, Bauchi State Civil Service Commission, from 1986 to 1991, and thereafter served as and Chairman of the Commission from 1992 to 2007.
In these capacities, he provided firm and visionary leadership in civil service management, discipline, and reform, further entrenching professionalism, meritocracy, and institutional integrity within the state’s public service.
Alhaji Ahmed Liman Katagum’s meritorious service has been widely recognized through numerous honours and awards, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Prize Award (1969), Bauchi State Government Merit Award (1996), Nigeria Labour Congress Merit Award (2000), Silver Jubilee Award on the Creation of Bauchi State (2001), and the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), conferred in 2006.
Beyond public service, he is a devoted family man and a source of guidance and inspiration to his household. He is blessed with seven children, five sons and two daughters, whom he has raised with strong values of integrity, discipline, and commitment to excellence.
Widely respected for his integrity, discretion, and unwavering devotion to duty, Alhaji Ahmed Liman Katagum represents a generation of civil servants whose professionalism laid enduring foundations for effective governance in Bauchi State. His life and service constitute a significant chapter in the administrative history of the state, particularly as it commemorates fifty years of its creation. He served in various committees for the creation of Bauchi State.
