Kano State postpones Buhari’s visit for projects commissioning over fuel, new Naira notes scarcity
Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has postponed the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to the state to commission some projects.
This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor Abba Anwar on Saturday.
According to the statement the decision was taken after a meeting with stakeholders in the state and communicated in a letter to President Buhari.
He said the decision to postpone the visit was due to the fuel scarcity in the country and the deadline by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the phasing out of old naira notes.
He said the citizens of the state are in untold hardship which might affect the visit negatively.
“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,” governor 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, twenty 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.
“There are no banks in most of our rural communities. How these people get the 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,” the governor lamented.
Even at Point of Sales (POS) according to the governor, one cannot transact with ease, hinting that, many of them closed shops due to uncertainty.
He emphasized that, Kano being a commercial hub must be heard loudly.
“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,” the governor said.
Governor Ganduje reveals further that, under one platform, Nigerian governors without consideration to party affiliation, sent delegates to President Buhari complaining to him about the hardship caused by the new development.
