Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, OFR (born 25 December 1949) is a Nigerian Muslim politician and current Governor of Kano State since 2015. He previously served as deputy governor twice between 1999 and 2003 and 2011 to 2015.

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

OFR
Governor of Kano State
Assumed office
29 May 2015
Preceded bySanusi Phadoma
Deputy Governor of Kano State
In office
29 May 1999 – 29 May 2003
Succeeded bySanusi Phadoma
In office
29 May 2011 – 29 May 2020
Preceded byAbdullahi Tijjani Gwarzo
Succeeded byProf. Hafizu Abubakar
Personal details
Born (1949-12-25) 25 December 1949
Ganduje, Dawakin Tofa, Kano State
NationalityNigerian
Political partyAll Progressive Congress (APC)
Spouse(s)Hafsat Umar
ResidenceKano, Nigeria
Alma materAhmadu Bello University
Bayero University Kano
University of Ibadan
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAdministrator
Websiteganduje.com.ng

Early life and education

Ganduje was born in Ganduje village of Dawakin Tofa local government area of Kano State in 1949.[1]

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 Government Secondary School 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 got his doctorate in Public Administration from University of Ibadan in 1993.[2]

Ganduje was Declared winner of 2019 Re-election .

Career

Ganduje joined the now-defunct 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.

He joined the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and aspired to be the party's gubernatorial candidate but lost the primaries to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Tony Momoh chaired the Committee that screened the candidates and conducted the primary election, other members included Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila and Senator Bala Tafidan Yauri. 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 Hon. Commissioner for Local Government. From 2003 to 2007 he served as the special Adviser (Political) to the Hon. Minister of Defence, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Ganduje also served as a member of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

Ganduje was appointed the chairman of the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti in 2008 and was later appointed as the executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission at Ndjamena, Republic of Chad. He participated in the 2006 Nigerian Political Reforms Conference.

Ganduje was a Deputy Governor of Kano State Governor Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003, under the flag of the PDP. They lost re-election to Malam Ibrahim Shekarau. They were re-elected on 27 April 2011 and sworn in on 29 May 2011 for a second term in office.

Ganduje was conferred the national honour of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR)[3] in September 2012 by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. He was also conferred with the honour of Fellow National Association of Educational Administration and Planning (FNAEAP) on 13 October 2016 in Bayero University, Kano.

Governor of Kano State

He was selected as the consensus candidate to succeed Kwankwaso as Governor of Kano State on 28 November 2014 among the All Progressives Congress, APC Candidate are Usman Alhaji, Kawu Sumaila, Ibrahim Muhammad Kankarofi, Malam Ibrahim Khalil, Col. Lawal Jafaru Isa.[4] He went on to defeat the opposition candidate, Malam Salihu Takai, with 1,546,434 votes against Takai's 509,726 votes in the 11 April, 2015 gubernatorial elections.[5] He was sworn into office on 29 May, 2015. He won the 2019 gubernatorial elections on Sunday 24 March to return to office for his second term amid alleged voter irregularities and widespread controversies.[6] On 20th January 2020, the Nigerian Supreme Court upheld Ganduje's re-election and dismissed the appeal lodged by his main opponent Abba Kabir Yusuf.[7]

Bribery allegations

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.[8] 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.[9]

Dethronement of Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

On March 9, 2020, the Emir of Kano - HRH Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was dethroned and exiled by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, on the basis of alleged "insubordination and disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the Governor".[10][11][12][13]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  3. "Jonathan springs surprises at 2014 National Honours Awards ceremony". News Express. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  4. Kolade, Adeyemi (2 December 2014). "Ganduje scales screening in Kano governorship race". The Nation. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  6. Television, Oak (25 March 2019). "INEC declares APC's Ganduje winner of Kano 2019 election". OAK TV. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  7. “Supreme Court upholds Ganduje’s election, dismisses appeal”. Vanguard News. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  8. Samuel, Ogundipe. "Kano Governor Ganduje caught on video receiving dollars from suspected contractors". Premium Times. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. "Ganduje denies video of taking bribe, says videos are fake". Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. Folorunso 'FSJ' Junior (10 March, 2020). "Why we dethroned Emir Sanusi – Kano Govt". Premium Times. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  11. Published. "Why Sanusi was dethroned as Emir of Kano – Ganduje". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  12. "Emir Sanusi II dethroned, banished". Vanguard News. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  13. 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)
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