Breaking: FG Declares 2-Day Public Holiday for Eid al-Fitr
- The federal government has declared March 19 and 20 as public holidays for Eid al-Fitr celebrations
- Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, urged citizens to embody the virtues of peace and unity during the festival period
- Public reactions revealed mixed feelings about the holiday duration and the clarity of the announcement
The federal government has announced Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, as public holidays in celebration of the end of Ramadan, known as Eid al-Fitr, a popular Muslim festival.
Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of the Interior, announced the development in a statement on Tuesday, March 18. The statement was signed by the ministry's Permanent Secretary, Magdalene Ajani.
Source: Twitter
The minister extended his warm greetings and heartfelt message to the Muslims for the successful completion of the Holy month of Ramadan and urged them to sustain the virtues of generosity, love, tolerance, peace, and sacrifice, which were projected during the period.
He then called on Nigerians to use the festival period to pray for sustained peace, unity and prosperity of the country. He urged the citizens to be responsible in their celebration and assured that the federal government remains committed to the nation's national unity and peaceful coexistence among its people.
Nigerians react as FG announces public holiday
Nigerians have started reacting to the announcement of the public holidays. Below are some of their comments:
Ev expressed bitterness over the failure of the government to add Monday to the public holidays:
"Thursday and Friday are public holidays. What is wrong with this government? You can't even get public holidays right. Anyway, you will still add that Monday join. Nonsense."
Onisemo of Lagos said Thursday should not be included in the holiday:
"What exactly is Thursday doing in this conversation? The last day of Ramadan is Thursday, and we don't need the holiday."
Hujjah thanked the ministry for the announcement:
"Ẹshey Babami... Your own will not spoil. This presentation I get on Thursday don automatically shift to after Ramadan. Good. Good."
Source: Twitter
Nelson Emmanuel raised questions on the terms used:
"Who is this handler who cannot differentiate between the ministry and the minister? And why declare two good days for small sallah? Smh."
Educator ABASS wrote about the festival in the Islamic calendar:
"Eid Announcement from Makkah. I’m honoured to announce to everyone on X that Eid al-Fitr will be on the 1st of Shawwal."
24/7Chuks criticised the ministry for not adding Monday to the holiday:
"Can't you even get ordinary public holidays right? What happened to Friday and Monday?"
Olu of Akure said the announcement is poorly constructed:
"This is the third time a poorly drafted document has come from the Ministry of Interior, which is quite concerning."
See the full statement on X here:
FCT Minister declares public holiday
Legit.ng earlier reported that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike declared February 20 a work-free day for Area Council elections.
Movement was restricted from 8 pm Friday to 6 pm Saturday for electoral participation.
Social media reactions reflected mixed responses to the election timing and government decisions.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
