Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR was born on December 25, 1949. He is a Nigerian politician who served as the governor of Kano State from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as Rabiu Kwankwaso's deputy governor twice, from 1999 to 2003 and from 2011 to 2015. He is a member and national chairman of the ruling Party All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ganduje attended Dawakin Tofa Primary School from 1956 to 1963. He attended the prestigious Government College, Birnin Kudu from 1964 to 1968. He also enrolled in the Advanced Teachers' College, Kano between 1969 and 1972 and then attended Ahmadu Bello University, located in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he graduated with a Bachelor in Science Education in 1975.

In 1979 Ganduje obtained his master's degree in applied educational psychology from Bayero University Kano. He returned to Ahmadu Bello University from 1984 to 1985 for a Master of Public Administration degree. He received his doctorate in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan in 1993.

Between 1999 and 2003, Ganduje was later picked as the deputy to Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. He was also appointed as the Commissioner for Local Government. From 2003 to 2007 he served as the Special Adviser (Political) to the Minister of Defence. Ganduje also served as executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in Ndjamena.

In 2014, he was selected as the All Progressives Congress (APC) consensus candidate for the Governor of Kano State. He defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Malam Salihu Takai, with 1,546,434 votes against Takai's 509,726 votes in the 2015 governorship election. On 29 May 2015, he was inaugurated as the Governor of Kano State, replacing his political mentor Rabiu Kwankwaso.

On August 3, 2023, the National Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress appointed him as the National Chairman of the ruling party, following the resignation of former governor of Nasarawa, Abdullahi Adamu.

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