Muslims stakeholders in Kwara state have condemned critics of the government’s declaration of 1st Muharram 1445(Hijrah) as work-free day in the state.

The chairman of the group, Alh Is-haq Abdul-Karim, during a media parley in Ilorin the state capital, declared the criticism from Prof Funmilayo Adesanya – Davies as baseless.

He wondered what concerned Adesanya- Davies about a public holiday declared for Muslims who have endured the imposition of 1st January as a public holiday by the colonial masters in Nigeria for more than 63 years.

He described the comments of Adesanya- Davies on the matter as a sign of religious intolerance.

Abdulkarim reminded the scholar of the fact that Oyo and Ogun states headed by Christian governors had earlier declared 1st Muharram of this year as work-free day in their states.

“This is in addition to similar declarations across Nigeria, including Osun state,” he added.

On Adesanya-Davies’ call for return of Kwara schools to missions, AbdulKarim recalled that the matter was taken to court by Kwara state CAN since 2013 which they lost at the Ilorin High Court by the judgement of 2016 and also lost their appeal at the Court of Appeal in 2019.