The Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad and President of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, has announced the sighting of the moon, signifying the end of Ramadan.
The Sultan, in a televised statement in the early hour of Sunday, said that ”The new month of Shawwal was sighted in different places within Nigeria and therefore tomorrow (Sunday) is the first day of Shawwal equivalent to 27 July 2014,” the Sultan said in an announcement aired on the Nigerian Television Authority [NTA].
However, the Secretary-General of the organisation, Is-haq Oloyede, said he was not aware that the moon had been sighted.
“I spoke to the Sultan about four times tonight and he did not tell me that the moon has been sighted. In any case, any such claim is ridiculous and unscientific. It cannot be right.
“The National Moon-Sighting Committee has not informed us of any credible sighting of the moon. Rather, they said the moon wasn’t sighted. The new moon was only born at 11:45 P.M. tonight (Saturday) and it will take several hours for it to be sighted.
“Is our own sky different? Is our own moon manufactured in Nigeria?”
Professor Oloyede urged Muslims to continue their fast on Sunday and prepare for Eid-Fitri on Monday in line with the verdict of the National Moon-Sighting Committee, [NMC].
But Professor Ishaq Akintola, Director, Muslims Right Concern, MURIC, told our correspondent around 3.00am on Sunday morning that so long as the Sultan has confirmed and announced the sighting of the moon, that signifies the end of the Ramadan fast.
Akintola urged all the people whose fast would be 28 today (Sunday) not to insist on fasting today but must ensure that the remaining one is observed from tomorrow.
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