Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, says the State is ready to host President Muhammadu Buhari on a State visit slated for today, Monday, 30th January, 2023.
The Governor was addressing to journalists at the President’s residence in Daura, Katsina State, after leading a group of key stakeholders from the state to meet with President Buhari on Sunday.
“We are very much ready to receive him and we have a lot for him to commission including federal government projects and state government projects.
“They are state-of-the-art projects,” he said, when asked whether the state was prepared to host Buhari on Monday.
Ganduje revealed in an interactive session with Kano stakeholders, including scholars, legislators, political leaders, and the business community, that his government had requested the President to postpone the trip, citing the state’s deep concern about the hardship caused by the ongoing cash swap from old to redesigned notes.
He said the decision was taken to avoid any unforeseen circumstance.
Consequently, the State government wrote a letter to the President outlining the reasons why the planned visit is no longer auspicious at this time.
According to a press statement issued on Saturday by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the decision to advised the President against the visit was endorsed by the stakeholders of the State.
Despite Ganduje’s objection, President Buhari had, however, insisted on going ahead with the Monday visit.
Meanwhile, a statement issued by the commissioner for information and internal affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba said President Buhari will commission the 10 megawatt federal government, Kano Grid Solar Power, multi-billion naira Dala Inland Dry Port in Zawachiki, Kumbotso local government area.
He listed other projects to be commission to include Kano state Data Centre at Audu Baki Secretariat, Tier Data Centre and office complex at Galaxy Backbone Limited Project at Ahmadu Bello Way.
The rest are commissioning of Cancer Treatment Centre at Muhammadu Buhari Specialist Hospital, Giginyu; Muhammadu Buhari Road Rotary Interchange at NNPC Station, along Maiduguri Road; Aliko Dangote Ultra-Modern Skill Acquisition Centre, Zaria Road and a Federal Government Housing Units at Gandun Sarki, Darmanawa.
During Sunday’s visit to Daura, Governor Ganduje also affirmed that he led the delegation to Daura over the issue of the ongoing currency swap and was happy with the assurances they got from President Buhari.
He said: “Seeing is believing. You can see that I have led a powerful delegation from Kano State on the issue of new naira notes and we have seen Mr. President. We have laid the complaints of the Kano people and we are very happy.
“He explained to us and also he assured us that the time is extended and the quantity of new naira (notes) will increase so that the suffering of the people will be reduced.
“We informed him that Kano is the most populous state in the federation and also the commercial nerve centre of the northern part of Nigeria, second to Lagos.”
The Governor added that the State was in short of commercial banks this, the need for intervention.
“In terms of cash transaction, Kano is much higher than Lagos because Lagos has gone far in terms of cashless society, cashless transaction. But Kano State being comparatively a rural state, so to say, still we have 24 local governments without banks. Most of the banks are concentrated within Kano metropolitan.
“So, you can imagine the suffering of the rural areas, rural people in terms of cash transaction. But we are happy that the time has been extended and also the quantum of the naira notes will be increased.
“So, we are so grateful to the President for his effort,” Ganduje added.
