The Federal Government has declared Monday 10th October 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 made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government.

He congratulated all Muslims at home and in the Diaspora for witnessing this year’s occasion.

The Minister, in a statement by his Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore admonished all Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of love, patience, tolerance and perseverance.

He said such are deep spiritual virtues which the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) exemplified, adding that doing so would guarantee peace, security and harmony in the country.

Aregbesola 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”, the Minister stated.

While calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, the Minister 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 urged 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 agents”.