The Nigerian Government on Thursday declared Tuesday, July 20 and Wednesday, July 21, 2021, next week as public holidays to mark this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made this known in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, “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 said 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”.
The Minister congratulated all Muslim faithful and Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora on the celebration.