The federal government of Nigeria has declared Tuesday, July 20, and Wednesday, July 21 as public holidays to mark the 2021 Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration in a statement on Thursday on behalf of the federal government which was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore.
He congratulated all Muslim faithful and Nigerians at home and in the diaspora on the celebration, urging them to allow the lessons of the celebration reflect in their day-to-day activities.
“I call on Muslims to continue to imbibe the spirit of love, peace, kindness and sacrifice, as exemplified by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) and to also use the period to pray for peace, unity, prosperity and the stability of the country, considering the challenges of insecurity we face at the moment. These mainly are bandits in the North West and North Central, insurgents in the North East, kidnappers, armed robbers, ethnic agitators, and sundry criminals in other parts of the country,” Aregbesola said.
He added that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is “committed to the security of lives and property of every Nigerian, and empowering the citizens for successful living, the provisions of social investments programmes and adequate security in the schools, especially with the spate of innocent school children being targets of kidnapping.”
Aregbesola, while wishing the Muslim faithful a happy Eid-el Kabir celebration, advised all Nigerians to take responsibility by reporting any suspicious individuals and criminal activities to law enforcement agencies, especially during this festival.
He also called on all Nigerians to observe all Covid-19 protocols, particularly the non-pharmaceutical measures – wearing facemasks, hand washing and social distancing – designed to keep the transmission of the disease at bay.
“We must all take responsibility for containment of the pandemic during this year’s festival,” he said.
This article was originally published on Nigeria News
