The government of Cote d’Ivoire has declared Thursday, January 18, a public holiday for students.
It also said that some government parastatals will work half a day in the country as they are expected to close work by 1 pm.
The gesture is to drum more support for the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire ahead of their second group A game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria slated for 5:45 pm (Nigerian time) at the Alassane Outtara Stadium in Abijdan this evening.
According to the information, the government decided to give every citizen enough time to prepare for the all-important game.
Cote d’Ivoire started their AFCON campaign with a 2-0 victory over Guinea Bissau while Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their opening game.
“All the students in the primary and secondary didn’t go to school today but the university students will go to class in the morning. Some government agencies will also work half day and they are expected to close at work by 1 pm today. Every citizen is expected to give maximum support to our team against the Super Eagles,” a citizen of Cote d’Ivoire told Nation Sport.