The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) on Saturday urged the Federal Government to declare the first day of the Islamic calendar as a public holiday, IgbereTV reports.
In a statement issued on Saturday by its Director- General, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the group stated that January 1 recognized by countries across the world, including Nigeria, as the beginning of the new year was “unfair and unjust” to Muslims in the country.
MURIC, therefore, urged the government to declare the 1st of Muharram Hijrah, which is the first day in the Islamic calendar as a “Muslim New Year.”
The statement read: “As usual, the Federal Government declared 1st January, 2022, a public holiday in recognition of the first day of the Christian Gregorian calendar.
“But because the day fell on a Saturday, the Federal Government created an alternative by declaring the following Monday a public holiday.
“This was an aberration and a gross injustice because Nigerian Muslims have been demanding the declaration of the first day of the Islamic calendar as a holiday for more than 20 years to no avail
