Scandal: How Ganduje Diverted 20% of Kano’s Dry Port Shares to Children, Approved N4bn Contract for Family Firm – Report

Former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has been accused of diverting Kano State’s 20 percent equity in the multibillion-naira Dala Inland Dry Port to his children while simultaneously awarding a contract worth over N4 billion for infrastructure at the same facility to a firm linked to his family, according to an investigation by Premium Times.

The probe revealed that Kano State originally acquired its stake in the project in 2006 under Governor Ibrahim Shekarau, following a federal policy that allocated 20 percent ownership each to the federal and state governments while private investors controlled the remaining 60 percent. Businessman Ahmad Rabiu initially held 80 percent of the shares, with the understanding that Kano State would provide basic infrastructure such as roads, water, and electricity at the Zawachiki, Kumbotso site.

Despite this arrangement, successive administrations failed to deliver on these commitments, leading to years of stagnation. International shipping giant Maersk Sealand eventually pulled out due to lack of progress, and by 2019, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council was threatening to terminate the concession.

In a controversial turn, Rabiu reportedly ceded 60 percent of his equity to the Ganduje family in 2020, giving the former governor’s children majority control. Shortly afterward, the state government, still under Ganduje’s leadership, awarded a contract initially valued at N2.3 billion but later revised to over N4 billion for the development of the port’s infrastructure. Documents showed that FRI Construction Company Limited secured the deal, handling fencing, electricity, warehouses, and storage facilities, while subcontracting road works to Triacta Nigeria Limited.

Company records further revealed that in March 2020, Ganduje’s three sons—Abdulaziz, Umar, and Muhammad Abdullahi Umar—alongside an ally, Abubakar Bawuro, were installed as directors, replacing previous board members and effectively removing Kano State as a shareholder. The children were each allocated five million shares, cementing their control over what was once a state-backed investment.

The move has sparked widespread concerns of conflict of interest, abuse of office, and the conversion of public assets into private family wealth. The Dala Inland Dry Port, strategically positioned to serve Nigeria’s northern trade routes with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, had been granted full port-of-origin status and designated as a free-trade logistics zone by the Federal Government in 2020. Yet, by the time state funds were finally committed to building the required infrastructure, Kano no longer had an ownership stake in the project.