By Murtala Adewale, Kano
Kano state government has formally requested the presidency to postpone a two-day official visit of president Muhammadu Buhari to Kano.
President Buhari is scheduled to arrive in Kano on Monday 30th January, for the unveiling of seven legacy projects of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje including a 10-megawatt hydropower plant, a multi-billion naira Cancer treatment centre and Dala Inland Dry Port among others.
Addressing stakeholders including Islamic scholars, state legislators, political leaders and the business community Friday evening at the Government House, Governor Ganduje disclosed that the state government was compelled to write the presidency to shelve his coming to Kano because of the fragile state of security in the country.
Ganduje worried that Nigerians are presently undergoing difficulties times occasioned by the unpopular monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), adding that President Buhari’s visit may be greeted by unforeseen circumstances that could threaten his security.
“Deeply concerned with the hardship caused by the limited time given for halting the use of old Naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and for security reasons, we have written to Presidency that, the visit of the President to commission some projects to be postponed.
“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 Presidency that President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Kano is postponed. We got an acknowledgement copy of the letter. People are really suffering because of this policy,”. Ganduje said.
Ganduje affirmed that prior to government stands, a wide range of consultations was made where a unanimous decision was aggregated in support of the letter sent to the Presidency.
A statement by Abba Anwar, press secretary to the Governor, 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 decision.
Lamenting on the CBN policy, Ganduje said, “There are no banks in most of our rural communities. How would the 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. Even at the Point of Sales (POS) one cannot transact with ease, many of the POS is now planning to close shops due to uncertainty.
“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.”
Governor Ganduje reveals further: 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.
“Governors from all the political parties put heads together and sent delegates, but to no avail. So also traditional rulers followed the same path, as well as individuals but up till now, there is nothing to write home about”, Ganduje noted.
Source: The Guardian
