Fresh investigations have revealed how former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, quietly stripped the state government of its 20% equity in the multibillion-naira Dala Inland Dry Port project and handed it over to his children. The move, which effectively erased Kano’s role in a project it once co-owned, raises damning questions of conflict of interest and abuse of office.
Documents obtained show that since 2006, Kano had held a 20% stake in the port under a joint venture arrangement with the Federal Government and a private investor, Ahmad Rabiu. But under Ganduje’s watch, the state’s shares were transferred to his children, who were later installed as directors and shareholders. Shockingly, the former governor also approved a contract worth over ₦4 billion for infrastructural development at the port—public funds injected into a project his family now controlled.
The Dala Inland Dry Port was conceived as a major trade hub for Nigeria’s northern corridor, linking commerce to Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. But years of neglect stalled progress. By 2019, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council threatened to revoke the concession. Instead of reviving Kano’s commitment, Ganduje allegedly allowed the founder to cede control to his family, securing dominance over a project that was supposed to serve the public interest.
Company filings show that in March 2020, Ganduje’s children—Abdulaziz, Umar, and Muhammad—were appointed as directors, each handed five million shares. This change cemented their grip over the dry port, while Kano State was quietly edged out. To worsen matters, Ganduje later awarded multi-billion-naira contracts to provide the very infrastructure Kano had been expected to deliver as a stakeholder. The money came from state coffers, even though the state no longer had a stake in the venture.
Analysts describe the revelations as a textbook case of economic sabotage—where public equity was privatised into family wealth, while state funds still financed its growth. For a project hailed as Kano’s gateway to regional trade, the scandal leaves behind a troubling question: did Ganduje mortgage the state’s future for his family’s empire?
