Profile
Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (OFR) is the current Executive Governor of Kano State in Nigeria. He was a two-term Deputy Governor of Kano State, serving in 1999 to 2003 and 2011 to 2015 under the administration of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Personal Life
Ganduje was born on 25th December 1949 in Ganduje village of Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State. He is married to Hafsat Umar with two children.
Education
School | Degree | Date |
Dawakin Tofa Primary Schoo | First School Leaving Certificate | 1956 – 1963 |
Government Secondary School Birnin Kudu | O’ Level Certificate | 1964 – 1968 |
Advance Teachers’ College Kano | Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE) | 1969 – 1972 |
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria | Bachelor’s degree in Science Education | 1972 – 1975 |
Bayero University Kano | Masters degree in Applied Educational Psychology | 1979 |
Ahmadu Bello University Zaria | Masters Degree in Public Administration | 1984 – 1985 |
University of Ibadan South West of Nigeria | Ph.D. in Public Administration | 1989 – 1993 |
Work History
Company | Position | Date |
Lake Chad Basin Commission at Ndjamena, Chad Republic | Executive Secretary | |
Chairman | Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti | 2008 |

Ganduje Village, Dawakin Tofa Local government Kano state
25th December, 1949
Kano State
All Progressive Congress (APC)
Islam
Deputy Governor, Kano State
Executive Governor of Kano State
auganduje@gmail.com
https://web.facebook.com/yahaya.bello.3110
Political History
- Kano State Assistant Secretary from 1979 to 1980 under National Party of Nigeria (NPN)
- Deputy to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso between 1999 and 2003.
- Hon. Commissioner for Local Government, Kano
- Deputy Governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003.
- Special Adviser (Political), to the Hon. Minister of Defence, Federal Republic of Nigeria. 2003 to 2007
- Vice chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, 2015
- Executive Governor of Kano State, 2015
- He will be retiring from his current position as the Governor of Kano State in the upcoming 2023 election.
Leadership Style/Philosophy
Awards & Honours
National honour of the Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (OFR) in September 2012 by 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.
Project
Major Project:
Kano Economic City (KEC), a centre of trade and commerce on 117.2 hectares of land
Other Projects:
The Kano government disbursed over N4 billion as assistance to local seed producers. It also trained 72 farmers and extension agents on safe and effective use of pesticides, environmental issues, and seed certification.
The Ganduje administration recruited 729 extension workers and trained them in partnership with national and international development agencies.
It also approved the distribution of motorcycles to the newly employed extension staff on 40 per cent loan discount.
The government (re)constructed over 20 metropolitan and rural roads in areas like Yusuf, Bompai, Kwaranga, Dakata Bella, Kings Garden Tudunmurtala, Burumburum Siyasa, and Kibbiya Rano.
The administration sent 100 youths for training at Peugeot Automobile. It also empowered about 10,000 women by training them in various skills including tailoring and then buying equipment for them to start their own business.
The government also distributed sanitation vehicles to about 200 women for door to door sanitation exercise.
Criticism/Controversy
- Feud with predecessor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso .
- Sleeping at public functions.
- Several cases of kidnapping in Kano including of young children.
- The menace of drug addiction among women and youth in Northern Nigeria is perhaps most rampant in Kano.
- Acute water scarcity in various parts of Kano such as Dakata, Rimin Kebbe, Zango, Gama, Brigade, Hotoro, Kawo and virtually all of Kano eastern bye pass.
- Viral Video Of Him receiving dollar notes in what is perceived as bribe payments from contractors