Ganduje stops Buhari visit to Kano over new naira note, others

The Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari, to shelve his planned visit to the state, so as to prevent any crisis that may occur over the Federal Government’s new Naira note policy, security challenges, and others.

Ganduje said that security reports showed that there were plans by some members of the public to cause chaos and the date for the president’s visit had been picked for the act.

In a bid to ensure that the president shelves all preparation for his visit to Kano, Ganduje has written to Buhari, justifying reasons he should postpone the visit for a campaign rally.

Ganduje made this known during an interactive session with scholars, legislators, political leaders, and the business community in the state at Government House, Kano, adding that the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

This is contained in a statement by Ganduje’s Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Saturday.

According to the statement, “As we are 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 acknowledgment copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy”.

During the meeting with sections of citizens in the state, they accepted that the decision was a unanimous one.

It was learnt that two serving Senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress, Kabiru Gaya, and Barau Jibrin; 20 House of Representatives members; and 30 legislators from the State House of Assembly were among the groups that put their weight behind the governor.

Ganduje lamented, “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 bank. without any assurances of getting the new notes.”

Even at Point of Sales, according to the governor, one could not 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, insisting, “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.”