The Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Gandjue, on Sunday, directed the acting Chairman of the Kano State Consumer Protection Council, Dr Baffa Babba Dan’agundi, to shut down Wellcare Supermarket.
The closure followed the refusal of the said supermarket’s management to accept the old naira notes from customers against the directive of the state government to continue accepting the old notes.
The Chairman of the council made the disclosure shortly after shutting down the supermarket, stating that legal action would be taken against its management.
He warned other marketers in Kano to be aware that the state government has not banned the use of old naira notes as legal tender and therefore, any shop owner caught not receiving the old notes would be dealt with decisively according to the dictates of the law.
Meanwhile, the management of Wellcare Alliance Limited has forwarded an apology letter to Governor Ganduje, seeking his immediate intervention to re-open the supermarket.
The letter was titled, “A plea for an immediate intervention to re-open Wellcare Alliance Limited and an apology letter.”
“Sir, Wellcare has always had an outstanding reputation in the market within the state and beyond, equally has abided by every rules and regulation which directly affects the company or a regulator without hesitation.
“Due to the Federal Government’s policy on the new naira notes, we gave wrong instructions to our staff members that from February 10, 2023, only the new notes are to be in circulation, and on an expansive investigation with our bankers, they declined to receive old naira notes,” the letter partly read.
The supermarket management pleaded with the Kano government that “our business should be re-opened for deserving members of the public as we undertake to receive the old notes as valid tender to when the state issues any other directive.”