New Naira Notes: Ganduje Fears Protests, Postpones Buhari’s Visit

In obvious fear of outbreak of protests over the hardship being faced by the people over the redesigned naira note, Kano Government has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to postpone his scheduled visit to the state.

Buhari was expected to be in Kano next Monday and Tuesday to commission some projects of the Ganduje administration.

The letter which was written by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has already been acknowledged by the presidency.

Citing the hardship and complaints being faced by Kano residents in getting the new naira notes, the governor said lawmakers, political leaders, and the business community are in support of the decision to ask the President to postpone his visit.

The Government of Kano State noted that the introduction of new naira has thrown the people into unimaginable suffering.

The statement reads, “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.

“Even at Point of Sales (POS), one cannot transact with ease, hinting that, many of them closed shops due to uncertainty,” the governor added while calling on the President to extend the 31 January deadline to phase out the use of the old naira notes.

“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,”

“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 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.”