FG announces public holiday for Monday

The Federal Government has designated Monday a national holiday to commemorate this year's Eid-ul-Mawlud celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

Rauf Aregbesola, the minister of interior, made this announcement on behalf of the federal government and thanked all Muslims for being present at the event this year, both at home and in the Diaspora.

Aregbesola urged Nigerians to adopt the spirit of love, patience, tolerance, and perseverance, which are profound spiritual virtues and which Prophet Muhammad exemplified, in a statement signed by the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, Shuaib Belgore, on Thursday. He added that doing so would ensure peace, security, and harmony in the nation.

Ogbeni Aregbesola enjoins Nigerians, particularly Muslims, to abstain from violence, lawlessness, and other illegal activity, according to the statement.

"We must show responsible leadership in Africa as the undeniable leaders of our race."

He advised Nigerians to be security conscious, encouraging them to report any suspicious individuals or activities to the closest security agency and using the N-Alert application on Android and iOS, stating "when you notice something do N-Alert, as this would elicit rapid response from security officers."