The management of Dala Inland Dry Port (DIDP) has denied reports alleging that the family of former Kano State governor and ex-APC national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, holds ownership stakes in the company.
In a statement on Thursday, the company’s secretary, Adamu Aliyu Sanda, described the reports as “false and malicious,” adding that verified records from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and board resolutions showed that no member of the Ganduje family had ever been a shareholder, director, or signatory of the firm.
“This claim is entirely false. You cannot remove an entity that never existed as a shareholder or director in the first place,” the statement said. “The repeated circulation of this falsehood appears to be part of a coordinated attempt to malign Dr. Ganduje’s reputation and mislead the public.”
The company explained that the Dala Inland Dry Port project was originally owned by businessman Ahmad Rabi’u and associates, who later invited City Green Enterprises (CGE) to invest after the project became dormant.
“Rabi’u subsequently consolidated all shares in his name, resigned other directors, and sold 80 percent of the company to CGE while retaining 20 percent for himself,” the management said.
It stressed that neither the Kano State government nor any member of the Ganduje family was involved in the transaction, which was duly registered with the CAC.
DIDP also rejected claims that the state government held a 20 percent stake, clarifying that the only involvement by the government was limited to infrastructure assistance facilitated through the Nigerian Shippers’ Council as part of a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
“CSR assistance, by definition, does not constitute shareholding or ownership. It was purely developmental support,” the statement said.
The company further dismissed as fake a document purportedly showing a board resolution on state representation, saying it was “single-handedly authored by Ahmad Rabi’u without the consent of other directors.”