The Federal Government declared Monday, October 10, 2022, a public holiday in honor of this year's Eid-ul-Mawlid Celebration to commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

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

In a statement issued on Thursday, October 6, in Abuja and signed by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, the Minister "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.''

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.

While calling for a stop to all divisive tendencies across the country, the Minister urges 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".

The Minister wished all Muslims a happy celebration and Nigerians a happy holiday.