Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to pull the breaks on his proposed official visit to the State, citing security reasons.
Ganduje’s request is coming on the heels of Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which has reportedly brought untold hardship to residents of the State, most with bottled up anger.
Ganduje’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Abba Anwar communicated the development through a statement to academics, lawmakers, political figures and members of the business community at the Kano State Government House on Friday.
The decision to seek the postponement of the visit was taken to avoid any unanticipated circumstances, the statement explained.
“As we are waiting for this important visit, we find 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,” the governor said.
The statement added that two serving senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Barau Jibrin and Kabiru Gaya, 20 members of the House of Representatives and 30 legislators from the State House of Assembly were among the groups that supported the decision.
“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 without any assurances of getting the new notes,” Ganduje lamented.
The governor claimed that it was difficult to conduct business even with the point of sale (POS), adding that many people have closed their shops over the uncertain situation.
“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,” Ganduje said.
The governor also called for an extension of the deadline for returning old Naira notes.