The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared Monday as public holiday to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlud celebration in commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
Lifestyle Nigeria reports that the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola made this declaration on behalf of the Federal Government.
He congratulated all Muslims both at home and in the Diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion.
Aregbesola, in a statement signed by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Shuaib Belgore, admonished Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues and which Prophet Muhammad exemplified.
He added that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country.
The statement read in part: “Ogbeni Aregbesola enjoins Nigerians, particularly Muslims, to refrain from violence, lawlessness and other acts of criminality.
“As the indisputable leader of our race, we must demonstrate responsible leadership in Africa.”
He urged Nigerians to be security conscious, asking them to report any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest security agency and through the N-Alert application on Android and IOS, saying “when you see something do N-Alert, as this would elicit prompt response from security agents.”