President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu joined other Muslim faithful at the prayer ground of the Dodan Barracks Mosque in Lagos to mark the Eid-El-Fitr celebration.
Muslims in Nigeria joined their counterparts around the world on Wednesday to mark Eid-El-Fitr, signaling the end of the thirty-day Ramadan fast. Some of the dignitaries who observed the Eid-El-Fitr prayer with the President include the deputy governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, among others. The Chief Imam of Lagos, Shiekh Suleiman Abdussallah, in his message that the festivity promotes a culture of sacrifice, unity and tolerance among the Muslim faithful.
The President while speaking to AAN shortly after the prayers urged Nigerians to continue to show resilience and patriotism, as well as keep hope alive. He said “The kind of resilience, sacrifice, endurance that we have, we should preserve that for the country. Be kind and a cheerful giver, love our country better than any other country – that is the only one that we have. “And we must continue to protect the integrity of our government and leadership. The new hope is alive, well and fine and Nigerians should continue to be very hopeful.“Without hope, there is no salvation, without hope, there is no development, without hope, there is no life,”
Some state governors have also called for, forgiveness, peace and tolerance among Nigerians. They urged Nigerians to pray for the country and as well for the leaders to pilot the affairs of the nation with the fear of God.
Eid-El-Fitr, which means “festival of breaking fast” started with the Ramadan fast on March 11th when the moon was sighted. The fasting ended on Tuesday after the moon was not sighted on Monday, prompting Saudi Arabia and the Sultan of Sokoto, the President, of the National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, to declare Wednesday (today) as the Eid-El-Fitr celebration day.
Having earlier declared Tuesday and Wednesday as public holidays, the Federal Government added Thursday after the declaration by the Sultan, giving the Muslim faithful three days to mark the great occasion.
