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

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government on Thursday, congratulated all Muslims both at home and in the Diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion.

Aregbesola, in a statement issued by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, admonished all Nigerians to “imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance, and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues and which the Holy Prophet Muhammad exemplified”, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security, and harmony in the country.

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The minister further 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,” he stated.

While calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, Aregbesola urged Nigerians, particularly youths, 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 in its effort to build a progressive and enviable nation that all citizens would be proud of.”

The minister equally enjoined Nigerians to be security conscious, urging 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”.

The Star