Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, on Saturday confirmed that he wrote the Presidency to postpone the inauguration of projects by President Muhammadu Buhari earlier scheduled to hold in the state, saying the postponement was due to security concerns.
Buhari was scheduled to inaugurate the Dala International Inland Dry Port, located at Zawachiki in Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state and other projects on Monday, January 30, 2023.
The decision, it was gathered, was taken at the governor’s interactive session with legislators, scholars, political leaders, and the business community at the weekend “to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.”
Ganduje, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar yesterday, said the postponement was because of “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.”
According to the governor, the state government wrote to the Presidency that the visit of the President to inaugurate some projects 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 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.
Two serving senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya and Barau Jibrin, 20 members of the House of Representatives and 30 legislators from the state House of Assembly were among the groups that supported the governor.
“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 explained.
“Even at Point of Sales (PoS),” the governor said, “one cannot transact with ease. Many of them have closed shops due to uncertainty.”
He emphasised 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.”
Governor Ganduje further revealed that under one platform, Nigerian governors without consideration of party affiliation, sent delegates to President Buhari to complain 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, but individually but up to now there is nothing in that respect,” Ganduje disclosed.
“We invited scholars who were here yesterday and today we are having these interactive sessions with the business community and our legislators.”
The Presidential Campaign Council of the APC had asked INEC to brief Nigerians daily on its level of preparedness.
Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano
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