The Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, declared on Sunday that the government is prepared for President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the State.
Ganduje’s U-turn came barely 24 hours after the government had advised the president to postpone his visit to Kano over the fear that the residents would protest the refusal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the deadline for the Naira swap.
The CBN, at the weekend, extended the deadline for the withdrawal of the old Naira notes from circulation to February 10.
The governor, who spoke with journalists after a meeting with Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, said Kano residents are “very ready” to welcome the president to the ancient city.
Buhari is expected to begin a two-day working visit to Kano State on Monday.
He said the State is satisfied with the president’s response to the concerns raised by the government about the visit.
Ganduje said: “We are very much ready to receive him and we have a lot for him to commission, including federal government projects and State government projects. They are state-of-the-art projects.
Today, I led a powerful delegation from Kano State on the issue of new naira notes and we have seen Mr. President.
“We have laid the complaints of the Kano people and we are very happy with the president’s response.
“He told us that the time (deadline) has been extended and assured us that the quantity of new naira will increase so that the suffering of the people will be reduced.
“We informed him that Kano is the most populous state in the federation and also the commercial nerve centre of the northern part of Nigeria — second to Lagos.
“But in terms of cash transactions, Kano is higher than Lagos because Lagos has gone far in terms of a cashless society, cashless transaction.”