Eid-El-Fitr: FG Extends Public Holidays To Thursday, April 11
The Federal Government has declared Thursday, April 11, 2024 as additional public holiday to commemorate this year’s Eid-El-Fitr celebration.
The approval was conveyed in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Interior, Dr Aishetu Ndayako, and shared on the Ministry’s X account on Tuesday.
According to the statement; “The Federal Government has approved Thursday, April 11, 2024 as an additional public holiday to celebrate this year’s Eid -El-Fitr.
“The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, while congratulating the Muslim Ummah for a successful completion of a month of spiritual rejuvenation, reiterates President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s firm commitment to providing a safe and prosperous Nigeria for all to thrive”.
On Monday, the Saudi authorities explained that the crescent of Shawwal has not been sighted, indicating that the fasting will be continuing on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.
Accordingly, the Saudis said the Eid-El-Fitr would now hold on Wednesday, April 10 to mark the beginning of the new Islamic month.
Forefront News recalls that the Federal Government had on Sunday declared Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10, 2024, as public holidays to mark the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.
With this latest development, holidays for the 2024 celebrations will inadvertently run for three days instead of the usual two days.
In recent memory, the last time the Eid-el-Fitr celebration got extended to three days was in 2016 following the directive by the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, to the effect that the Ramadan fast had to continue as a result of the non-sighting of the moon.
Consequently, the Federal Government added Thursday, 7th July 2016 to the days after initially declaring Tuesday, July 5th and Wednesday 6th, 2016 as Public Holidays.