The Kano state government, through the Consumer Protection Council, had on Sunday, closed popular supermarket, Wellcare, over refusal to accept old Naira notes from the populace.
According to the Acting chairman of the council, Baffa Babba Danagundi, the supermarket was shut shortly after Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje gave the order.
Also confirming the story, Abubakar Aminu Ibrahim, Senior Special Assistant to the Kano Governor on Social Media posted on his Instagram handle that the supermarket was shut on the directives of Governor Ganduje.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has been in the forefront calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders to handle the implementation of the Naira redesign policy professionally.
The Governor had earlier met with officials of the CBN, Bank Managers, Security Heads and traditional leaders at the Africa House of the Kano Government to discuss ways of ensuring the hardship eases on the masses.
Ganduje sympathizes with public, calls for time extension
Kano state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has sympathized with the people in the state over the prevailing hardship as a result of the policy of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) on redesigned naira notes which went into circulation last week.
The CBN had redesigned the N1000, N500 and N200 Naira denominations November 2023, and fixed January 31st, 2023 as final day for the public to deposit the affected notes with the commercial banks.
The Kano state commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, who made this known in a statement on Friday, said government was deeply moved by the attendant consequences of the policy which has been affecting the people especially poor Nigerians due to its timing and short transition period.
Malam Garba stated that Governor Ganduje assured that the state government was making frantic effort to collaborate with other stakeholders to see to the extension of the transition period set for the total withdrawal of the old and issuance of enough new naira notes to the people.
The commissioner added “while the government, like most Nigerians, believe that the people are facing hardships following the naira redesign, it passionately appealed to the CBN to extend the deadline set for the policy”.
On the current fuel shortage, the statement also urged the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure adequate supply and distribution of the commodity to Nigerians.
The governor urged people in the state to remain calm down as appropriate measure would be taken to ameliorate the situations.
Shops close down due to shortage of Naira notes
Several shops have closed down in some residential areas of Kano city due to shortage of the smaller denominations in circulation and lack of the newly redesigned notes, thereby causing hardship.
More so, commercial banks have been taken over by people who have trooped there to deposit their money.
