His Eminence, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, has declared Monday to be the first day of Shawwal.
The Sultan issued the declaration after receiving no positive sighting claims from members of the National Moonsighting Committee or other Emirates.
“The Sultanate Council Sokoto, has declared Monday 2/5/2022 as the first day of Shuwal 1443 AH,” the Secretary of the National Moon Sighting Committee (NMSC), Mallam Yahaya Muhammad Boyi, said in a terse statement on Saturday night.
Muslims in the country would now celebrate the eid-el-fitri on Monday being the first day of Shawwal.
The Director of Administration of the NSCIA, Arc. Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, had on Friday in a statement urged Muslims across the country to look for the new moon of Shawwal on Saturday.
The Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court as saying the Shawwal crescent was not sighted on Saturday and thus Ramadan continues on Sunday.
The oil-rich kingdom also announced on Saturday that Muslims in the country will celebrate the eid-el-fitri on Monday.
The UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain among others, also said that the first day of eid al-fitr will be on Monday, May 2.
The sighting of the crescent moon on Saturday would have marked the end of Ramadan and the start of the next month of Shawwal on Sunday.