Daily News 24 brings you the biography of Kano state governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR (born December 25, 1949) is a Nigerian politician and the current Governor of Kano State. He was elected in 2015. He previously served twice as Rabiu Kwankwaso’s deputy governor, from 1999 to 2003 and again from 2011 to 2015.
On December 25, 1949, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was born in Ganduje village, Tofa Local Government Area, Kano State. He is currently 72 years old.
Education
Ganduje attended Kano’s Advanced Teachers’ College from 1969 to 1972. He then went on to Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1975.
He earned a master’s degree in applied educational psychology from Bayero University Kano in 1979. Ganduje later returned to Ahmadu Bello University for a Master of Public Administration degree from 1984 to 1985. In 1993, he earned his doctorate in public administration from the University of Ibadan.
Political careerÂ
During the Second Nigerian Republic, Ganduje joined the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and served as Kano State Assistant Secretary from 1979 to 1980. He ran for the House of Representatives under the NPN in 1979, but was defeated.
He held various government positions in the Federal Capital Development Authority between 1984 and 1994, and in 1994 he was appointed Kano State Commissioner of the Ministry of Works, Housing, and Transport.
In 1998, he joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and ran for governor as the party’s candidate, but lost to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
He was chosen as the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for Governor of Kano State in 2014. In the 2015 governorship election, he defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Malam Salihu Takai, with 1,546,434 votes to Takai’s 509,726 votes.
On May 29, 2015, he was sworn in as Governor of Kano State, succeeding his political mentor Rabiu Kwankwaso.
Creation of new emirates
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje signed legislation creating four new emirates in 2019. In this unprecedented move, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II’s traditional domain as emir was reduced. According to the law, the Kano emir will preside over only 10 of the state’s 44 local government areas, whereas previously the emirate’s domain included all 44 Kano State LGAs.
Following a high court ruling restraining the corruption investigation against Sanusi, the state legislature launched a new investigation into him in March 2020 for violation of traditional practices. Ganduje deposed and exiled Emir Sanusi on March 9, 2020, citing “insubordination and disrespect to lawful instructions from the Governor’s office.”
Ganduje Family
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje is married to an academic, Dr Hafsat Umar Ganduje.
Ganduje Net Worth
Ganduje Net worth is estimated at $400 million.
