The Federal Government has declared Monday as Public Holiday to mark this year’s Eid-ul-Mawlid Celebration in commemoration of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who made this declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, congratulates all Muslims both at home and in the Diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion, a statement signed by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, said.

“He admonishes all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance which are deep spiritual virtues and which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exemplified, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country,” the statement added.

“Ogbeni Aregbesola enjoins 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 stated, as quoted in the statement.

According to the statement, the Minister, while calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, urged all Nigerians, “and the youth in particular, 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 urges 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 agent’.

“The Minister wishes all Muslims a happy celebration and Nigerians a happy holiday.”