The Federal Government has declared December 26 and 27, 2022, as public holidays to mark Christmas, Boxing Day and Monday, January 2, 2023, declared a holiday to mark New Year’s Day celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made the announcement in a statement by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Shuaib Belgore, on Friday.
Aregbesola urged Christians and Nigerians to make the best use of this festive period to pray for the eradication of insecurity facing the country. “Peace and security are two critical conditions for economic development and prosperity. We urge Christians and Nigerians to make the best use of this festive period to pray for the total eradication of insecurity bedeviling our dear nation,” He stated. 
He also added that the life of Christ should be emulated in us as. “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 said.
“We strongly charge Nigerians not to be lured into insensitive crisis by criminally minded elements that wants to create anarchy in the country. ”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.
