TOYIN ADEBAYO, ABUJA
The FCT Administration has informed residents of the nation’s capital especially muslim faithful of the suspension of the Eid Congregational prayers in towns and cities across the Federation because of the ravaging coronavirus pandemic.
FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello said this year’s Eid-el Fitr prayers will not hold on Eid-grounds across the FCT.
This, he said was following the statement by the Jama’atul Nasril Islam (JNI), under the leadership of His Eminence, The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar,
Bello made this known, in a press statement made available to newsmen in Abuja by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Anthony Ogunleye stated that the statement equally urged Muslims to observe the Eid-il-Fitr prayers at home with family members or alone in the case of an individual living alone.
He further stated that, this is in tandem with the guidelines, issued by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, that all places of worship in the FCT and other high risk states of the Federation should remain closed during the recently extended period of lock down.
In order to achieve this objective of enforcing these guidelines, meetings were held earlier between the Administration and leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the League of FCT Imams.
According to him, The meeting acknowledged that the primary concern of all leaders and public officials was to save lives. In view of this common goal, the leaders of the religious organisations have agreed to work towards the eventual opening up of worship places at a time to be determined by the Presidential Task Force, based on medical advice.
A team consisting of representatives of the religious organisations and their leadership, as well as the FCT has already been constituted to look at what the modalities and protocols of operating places of worship will be when COVID-19 lockdown of the FCT is relaxed.
The FCT Administration therefore calls for support and understanding of all residents as efforts are being made to curtail and eventually end the spread of the COVID-19 in the Territory.
