Due to security concerns and complaints from people about the difficulty in obtaining the new naira notes, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has requested that President Muhammadu Buhari postpone his planned visit to the state.
According to a statement from Abba Anwar, the governor's media aide, Ganduje's request was included in a letter to the president.
On January 30 and 31, Buhari was slated to visit the region to dedicate various government-funded initiatives.
The governor was quoted as adding that the decision to postpone the anticipated visit has the support of state lawmakers, political actors, and the business community.
Ganduje demanded that the deadline for returning old naira notes be extended.
“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, Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje reveals that the state resolved and wrote to Presidency that, the visit of the President to commission some projects to be postponed,” the statement reads.
Anwar said the decision was made on Friday at the government house during an interactive session with academics, lawmakers, political leaders, and members of the business community.
“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,” the statement reads.
“We got an acknowledgement copy of the letter. People are suffering because of this policy.
“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 the 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.”
Anwar said the governor expressed concerns about the number of banks in the state’s rural communities.
“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,” the statement reads.
“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.