Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State yesterday said he sent a letter to the Presidency seeking postponement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the state for commissioning of projects.
It was gathered that Buhari was expected to pay a two day visit to the state on Monday for commissioning of some key projects executed by Ganduje’s administration.
However, the governor said because the state was deeply concerned with the hardship caused by the limited time given for halting use of old naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and for security reasons, wrote to the Presidency that the visit be postponed.
He made this known during an interactive sessions with scholars, legislators, political leaders and business community in the state at Government House, Kano, adding that the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.
“As we are waiting for this important visit, we found ourselves in this situation, which puts citizens into untold hardship. For security purposes we wrote to the Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kano be postponed.
“We got an acknowledgement copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy. There are no banks in most of our rural communities. How these people get new Naira notes is of great concern.
“Just look at what is happening in our urban areas, people go and spend hours upon hours in banks. And without any assurances of getting the new notes,” he said.
Ganduje emphasised that, Kano being a commercial hub, must be heard loudly, insisting, “This problem affects all of us. Therefore our voice must be heard in all nooks and crannies. We are a commercial hub. As such our position must be loud and clear.”
A statement by the chief press secretary to the governor, Abba Anwar, said during the meeting with sections of citizens in the state, they accepted that the decision was a unanimous one, as they all spoke in support of the letter to the Presidency.
Two serving Senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Barau Jibrin, 20 members of House of Representatives and 30 legislators from the state House of Assembly were among the groups that put their weight behind the governor.
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