THE Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, has declared Monday, May 2, 2022 as the first day of Shawwal following the inability of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC) to sight this year’s Shawwal moon today.
The Secretary of the NMSC, Yahaya Muhammad Boyi, made this known in a statement on Saturday evening.
The announcement, in effect, means that the 2022 Ramadan fasting period will be ending on Sunday, May 1, 2022, with Muslims celebrating the Eid-el-Fitr on Monday, May 2, 2022.
“The Sultanate Council Sokoto has declared Monday 2/5/2022 as the first day of Shuwal 1443 AH,” Boyi said.
Nigerian Muslims are, therefore, expected to continue with the Ramadan fast on Sunday.
The Sultan’s declaration is different from an earlier announcement by the Director of Administration of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, which urged Muslims across the country to look for the new moon of Shawwal on Saturday.
Usman-Ugwu had given the directive in a statement on Friday.
Meanwhile, the federal government earlier announced May 2 and 3 as public holiday.
