Tuesday, July 20 and Wednesday, July 21, 2021 have been declared as public holidays by the Federal Government to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government on Thursday.
He congratulated all Muslim faithful and Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora for the occasion.
He said, “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.”
He promised that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government remained “committed to the security of lives and property of every Nigerian, 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.”
He called on Nigerians to take responsibility by ensuring they report any suspicious individuals and criminal activities to law enforcement agencies, especially during this festival.