Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has revealed that the State has written a letter to the Presidency that the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to commission some projects in the state be postponed till further notice.
He made this known during his interactive session with scholars, legislators, political leaders and the business community in the state at the Government House, Kano, on Friday.
He noted that the decision was taken to avoid unforeseen circumstances.
“As we were 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,” the governor said, referring to the crisis over the new Naira note.
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During the meeting with sections of citizens in the state, the unanimous decision was arrived at.
Two serving Senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Barau Jibrin, members of the House of Representatives and thirty legislators from the State House of Assembly, were amongst the groups that put their weight behind the governor.
Ganduje lamented that, “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.”
House of Reps Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila has threatened to arrest CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele over the shambolic Naira redesign policy and roll-out of new bank notes.
Lawmakers and governors had asked the CBN Governor to extend the deadline for the swap of new notes with old ones. However, the latter has repeatedly maintained that the January 31, 2023 deadline remains sacrosanct and won’t be shifted.