The management of the Dala Inland Dry Port (DIDP) has firmly dismissed reports alleging that the family of former Kano State Governor and immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, holds shares or any ownership interest in the company.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Company Secretary, Barrister Adamu Aliyu Sanda, described the allegations as “false, misleading, and politically motivated,” stating that neither Ganduje’s family nor the Kano State Government has ever been part of the port’s ownership or board structure.
According to Sanda, verified records from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and official board resolutions confirmed that no member of the Ganduje family has ever been listed as a shareholder, director, or signatory in the company.
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“The claim that members of the Ganduje family are shareholders or directors in Dala Inland Dry Port is entirely false. There is no record — past or present — linking them to the company’s structure,” Sanda stated.
He explained that the port project was initially owned by businessman Ahmad Rabi’u before City Green Enterprises (CGE) acquired an 80 percent stake, leaving Rabi’u with 20 percent equity. The transaction, he noted, was duly registered with the CAC and carried out in accordance with regulatory procedures, with no involvement from the Ganduje family or the Kano State Government.
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Responding to reports that Ganduje’s children were allocated five million shares each through an “ordinary resolution,” Sanda dismissed the document as a forgery engineered to create political controversy.
“The so-called resolution is fake and was fabricated by an aggrieved party seeking to politicize a private commercial matter involving poor management and financial misdeeds,” he added.
The company also clarified that the Kano State Government has never owned a 20 percent stake in the port, explaining that the only collaboration between the two entities was through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assistance facilitated by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).
“The provision of infrastructure at the Zawaciki site was purely developmental support to revive the port project and stimulate economic growth in Kano. CSR assistance does not translate to ownership,” the company emphasized.
The DIDP further refuted claims that a state representative, identified as Abdullahi Haruna, served on its board. “No such individual exists or has ever represented the Kano State Government in any capacity within the company,” the statement clarified.
Reiterating its stance, the company stated that neither the Ganduje family nor the Kano State Government was ever a shareholder or director, stressing that all filings from inception to date with the CAC confirm this.
“You cannot remove an entity that never existed as a shareholder or director in the first place,” the company asserted, adding that the allegations were part of a coordinated smear campaign aimed at damaging Dr. Ganduje’s reputation and undermining confidence in the port project.
The Dala Inland Dry Port remains one of the key logistics and trade infrastructure projects in northern Nigeria, designed to decongest the Lagos seaports and boost economic activities in Kano and neighbouring states.