PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has sent his best wishes to Muslims in the country and all over the world as they begin this year’s 30-day fast, following the sighting of the moon.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu in a statement on Thursday stated that President Buhari emphasized that, Ramadan 2020 encounters an unprecedented challenge as it falls in the period the world is extremely worried over the Coronavirus pandemic which is yet to get a straightforward cure or vaccine, thereby necessitated governments to impose social distancing as a preventive measure in the society.
However, President Buhari urges Muslims to bear and not to use the Coronavirus as an excuse not to participate in the Ramadan fast, unless such abstaining is merited by the excuses clearly outlined by health and religious authorities.
“I congratulate all Muslims as they commence this year’s Ramadan fast which is depicted by self-denial, universal brotherhood, austerity and helping relatives and needy people,” says the President.
“Ramadan 2020 is a challenge, falling is in the period of the global pandemic, which has spread to more than 200 nations, with virtually all countries advising citizens to avoid large gatherings and have their prayers and meals (Suhoor and Iftar) individually or with family at home.
“In this Ramadan period, the kind of socializing you are used to now risks spreading the Coronavirus,” the President cautions Muslims, while enjoining them to refrain from those Ramadan rituals and traditions such as group meals and congregational prayers that have been put on hold by Muslim religious authorities all over the world’, Buhari stated.
