Yuletide: FG declares 26, 27 Dec, Jan 2 As Christmas, New Year Public Holidays

The Federal Government has declared December 26th and 27th as well as January 2nd, 2023 as public holidays to make the Christmas and New Year celebrations respectively.

Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shuaib Belgore on Friday in Abuja.

The public holidays, the statement added, are to celebrate Christmas, Boxing Day, and New Year in that order.

Aregbesola urged Christians to emulate Jesus and reflect on his teachings as they celebrate.

He enjoined Christians to emulate the doctrines of Christ in faith, hope, and love. “We must imbibe the life of Jesus Christ in His practice and teachings on Humility, Service, Compassion, Patience, Peace, and Righteousness, that His birth signifies. This will be the best way to portray Christ and celebrate his birth”, he noted.

He emphasizes that peace and security are two critical conditions for economic development and prosperity. He urges Christians and Nigerians to make the best use of this festive period to pray for the total eradication of insecurity bedeviling our dear nation.

Aregbesola strongly charged Nigerians not to be lulled into insensitive crisis by criminally minded elements that want to create anarchy in the country “This calls for deliberate responsibility and discipline on the part of all”, the Minister stresses.

The Minister urged Nigerians to be security conscious, asking them to report any suspicious persons or activities to the nearest security agency 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”.

Speaking further, the Minister said this Yuletide calls for spartan discipline in order to protect lives and properties of everyone in our community and the nation as a whole.

Aregbesola advised “Moderately celebrate the festival avoid the spread of fake news and be responsible. Take it as a point of duty you own your father land ”.

The Minister also assures that the Government has put in place effective measures for the security of lives and property and expects Nigerians to support the efforts of security agencies by providing useful information that will assist them in the performance of their duties.

Aregbesola admonished all citizens to remain focused and expresses confidence that the year 2023 would be a better year for us all while wishing all Christians in particular a happy Christmas and all Nigerians a peaceful and prosperous New Year celebration.