Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano state has confirmed that he sent a letter to the Presidency to seek postponement of President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the state for commissioning of projects.
The president was expected to pay a one-day visit to the state on Monday.
However, the governor said because the state is deeply concerned by the hardship attributed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deadline of old naira notes and for security reasons, he wrote to 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 purpose we wrote to 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.”
Ganduje emphasized that Kano being a commercial hub must be heard loudly, insisting that, “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 sent to 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 amongst the groups that put their weight behind the governor.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the decision to postpone the visit is connected to the recent protest by people in Katsina state where the president commissioned some projects executed by the state government.
