The Federal Government has declared Monday a public holiday to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlid celebration in commemoration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad.
Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Interior, made this announcement as he congratulated all Muslims witnessing the event this year, both at home and in the diaspora.
In a statement signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Shuaib Belgore, on Thursday, the minister added that doing so would ensure peace, security, and harmony in the nation.
Aregbesola urged Nigerians to adopt the spirit of love, patience, tolerance, and perseverance, which were profound spiritual virtues Prophet Muhammad exemplified.
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.”
