Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano has declared Monday a work-free day to mark the beginning of the new year of the Islamic calendar, 1444 A.H.

This is contained in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, in Kano.

“Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, therefore, congratulates Muslims in the state on the spiritual significance of the occasion that also calls for self-assessment.

“He also called on them to use the holiday to seek Allah’s forgiveness and pray for His intervention in salvaging the nation from the lingering security challenges,” he said.

He assured residents of his administration’s readiness to continue to deliver on its promise to improve their living conditions through the execution of people-oriented programmes and projects.

Mr Ganduje also urged those who were yet to obtain their voter card to do so to enable them to exercise their franchise in the forthcoming general elections.

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar, also considered the holy month after Ramadan.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, had directed Muslims to look out for the new moon of Muharram from Thursday, which is equivalent to Dhul-Hijjah 29, 1443 AH.

The calendar is also called the Hijri calendar.

All dates in the Islamic calendar 2022 are based on the country’s moon sighting. 

(NAN)