Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR (born 25 December 1949) is a Nigerian politician who is currently serving as the Governor of Kano State. He took over office in 2015. He previously served as Rabiu Kwankwaso's deputy governor twice, between 1999 and 2003 and 2011 to 2015.

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

OFR
Governor of Kano State
Assumed office
29 May 2015
DeputyHafizu Abubakar
Nasiru Gawuna
Preceded byRabiu Kwankwaso
Deputy Governor of Kano State
In office
29 May 2011 – 29 May 2015
GovernorRabiu Kwankwaso
Preceded byAbdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo
Succeeded byHafizu Abubakar
In office
29 May 1999 – 29 May 2003
GovernorRabiu Kwankwaso
Preceded bySanusi Phadoma
Succeeded byMagaji Abdullahi
Personal details
Born (1949-12-25) 25 December 1949
Ganduje, Northern Region, British Nigeria
(now Ganduje, Nigeria)
NationalityNigerian
Political partyAll Progressive Congress
(2014 to present)
Other political
affiliations		Peoples Democratic Party
(1998 to 2014)
Spouse(s)Hafsat Umar Ganduje
ChildrenFatima Ganduje-Ajimobi[1]
Muhammad Umar Ganduje[2]
EducationGovernment College, Birnin Kudu
Alma materAhmadu Bello University
Bayero University Kano
University of Ibadan
OccupationPolitician
Websiteganduje.com.ng

Background

Ganduje was born in Ganduje village of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State in 1949.[3]He started his early education in Qur'anic and Islamiyya school at his village, Ganduje, where he was trained in Islamic knowledge. He later moved to headquarters of his local government where he attended Dawakin Tofa Primary School from 1956 to 1963. Ganduje attended the prestigious Government College, Birnin Kudu from 1964 to 1968.

Ganduje attended Advanced Teachers' College, Kano between 1969 and 1972. He then attended Ahmadu Bello University, located in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he graduated with a Bachelors in Science Education in 1975. In 1979 he obtained master's degree in applied educational psychology from Bayero University Kano and later returned to Ahmadu Bello University from 1984 to 1985 for a Master of Public Administration degree. He received his doctorate in Public Administration from University of Ibadan in 1993.[4]

Early political career

Ganduje joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) during the Second Nigerian Republic and served as Kano State Assistant Secretary from 1979 to 1980. He contested the House of Representatives election in 1979 under the NPN but lost the election. Between 1984 and 1994, he held various government positions in the Federal Capital Development Authority, and in 1994 he became the Kano State Commissioner of Ministry of Works, Housing, and Transport.

In 1998, he joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and aspired to be the party's gubernatorial candidate, in the primaries supervised by Tony Momoh, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila and Senator Bala Tafidan Yauri amongst others; he lost to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Ganduje was later picked as the deputy to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003. In addition to the deputy governorship, he was also appointed as the Commissioner for Local Government. From 2003 to 2007 he served as the Special Adviser (Political) to the Minister of Defence. Ganduje also served as executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in Ndjamena.

Governor of Kano State

In 2014, he was selected as the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for the Governor of Kano State.[5] He went on to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Malam Salihu Takai, with 1,546,434 votes against Takai's 509,726 votes in the 2015 governorship election.[6] On 29 May 2015, he was inaugurated as the Governor of Kano State, replacing his political mentor Rabiu Kwankwaso. During his first term, Ganduje fell out with Kwankwaso, who he accused of godfatherism.[7] His tenure was also characterized by a series of clashes with Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, who he investigated for financial recklessness.[8] In 2019, he won re-election for a second term, defeating Kwankwaso's son-in-law Abba Kabir Yusuf,[9] in a controversial election marred with electoral malpractices.[10]

In 2019, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje signed into law the creation of four new emirates. This unprecedented move saw the reduction of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II's traditional domain as emir. According to the law, the Kano emir will only preside over 10 local government areas out of the 44 in the state. In March 2020, the state legislature launched a new investigation on Sanusi for violation of traditional practices, this coming after a high court ruling restraining the corruption investigation against Sanusi. On March 9, 2020, Ganduje deposed and exiled Emir Sanusi, on the basis of alleged "insubordination and disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the Governor".[11][12][13][14]

Corruption

In October 2018, video clips reportedly recorded by spy camera were published by an online medium Daily Nigerian showing the governor receiving wads of dollar notes in what appears to be bribe payments from contractors.[15] The governor, through his commissioner for information, however, denied the allegations and claimed the video clips were doctored to blackmail him and threatened legal suit to the publisher of Daily Nigerian, the journalist who released the video clips.[16]

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gollark: I am glad SOMEONE appreciates our genius other than the eldritch horrors summoned by it.
gollark: The bot addition project?
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gollark: With the amount of music bots here we could probably have some kind of orchestra.

References
  1. "Fatima Ganduje-Ajimobi (@fatimaganduje)". twitter.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  2. "KANO GOV'S 19-YR-OLD SON IS #DISTURBINGKANO WITH LUXURY CUSTOMIZED CARS, INCLUDING $250,000 FERRARI". newsrescue.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  5. Kolade, Adeyemi (2 December 2014). "Ganduje scales screening in Kano governorship race". The Nation. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  7. admin (6 November 2016). "Kano: The Red Cap Controversy". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. Ayitogo, Nasir (24 April 2017). "How we spent Kano Emirate funds, Emir Sanusi-led Council explains | Premium Times Nigeria". Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  9. “Supreme Court upholds Ganduje’s election, dismisses appeal”. Vanguard News. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  10. "Kano's deputy gov, commissioner arrested". The Guardian. 11 March 2019.
  11. Folorunso 'FSJ' Junior (10 March, 2020). "Why we dethroned Emir Sanusi – Kano Govt". Premium Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  12. Published. "Why Sanusi was dethroned as Emir of Kano – Ganduje". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. "Emir Sanusi II dethroned, banished". Vanguard News. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  14. editor (9 March 2020). "Disrespect to Lawful Instructions, Breach of Kano Emirate Law, Reasons Why Emir Sanusi Was Dethroned". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 13 March 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  15. Samuel, Ogundipe. "Kano Governor Ganduje caught on video receiving dollars from suspected contractors". Premium Times. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  16. "Ganduje denies video of taking bribe, says videos are fake". Retrieved 16 October 2018.
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