Eid-ul-Mawlid: FG declares Monday public holiday

The Federal Government has declared Monday, October 10, as public holiday to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlid celebration to commemorate the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, announced the holiday in a statement on Thursday.

The statement by his Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore, admonished all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance.

He said such were deep spiritual virtues which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exemplified, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country.

Aregbesola enjoined 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,” the minister added.

Aregbesola urged all Nigerians to embrace the virtues of hard work and peaceful disposition to fellow humans, irrespective of faith, ideology, social class and ethnicity and join hands with the President Muhammadu Buhari led-administration to build a progressive nation.

The minister 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.”