In Nigeria, a bank holiday is a nationwide public holiday. The name applies to all public holidays in Nigeria, whether they are established by legislation or publicly announced by government declarations through the minister of interior.
The word “bank holiday” stems from the belief that banks usually close on those dates.
LIST OF BANK HOLIDAYS IN NIGERIA IN 2022
| Day | Date | Holiday Name | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday | Jan 01 | New Year’s Day | National Holiday |
| Monday | Jan 03 | New Year’s Day (in lieu) | National Holiday |
| Wednesday | Feb 23 | State Holiday | Regional Holiday |
| Friday | Apr 15 | Good Friday | National Holiday |
| Monday | Apr 18 | Easter Monday | National Holiday |
| Sunday | May 01 | Worker’s Day | National Holiday |
| Monday | May 02 | Worker’s Day (in lieu) | National Holiday |
| Tuesday | May 03 | Eid-el-Fitri Sallah | National Holiday |
| Wednesday | May 04 | Sallah | National Holiday |
| Friday | May 27 | Children’s Day | Not A Public Holiday |
| Monday | Jun 13 | Democracy Day (in lieu) | National Holiday |
| Sunday | Jul 10 | Id el Kabir | National Holiday |
| Sunday | Jul 31 | Islamic New Year | Regional Holiday |
| Saturday | Oct 01 | Independence Day | National Holiday |
| Monday | Oct 03 | Independence Day (in lieu) | National Holiday |
| Wednesday | Nov 02 | Thanksgiving Day | Regional Holiday |
| Wednesday | Nov 16 | Public Holiday | Regional Holiday |
| Thursday | Dec 22 | Sambisa Memorial Day | Regional Holiday |
| Sunday | Dec 25 | Christmas Day | National Holiday |
| Monday | Dec 26 | Boxing Day Holiday | National Holiday |
| Tuesday | Dec 27 | Christmas Day (in lieu) | National Holiday |
New Year’s Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Day marks the start of a new year, and it occurs one week after Christmas Day.
Excluding Israel, all countries that use the Gregorian calendar celebrate New Year’s Day as a public holiday. This means it is the most commonly acknowledged public holiday in the world.
Good Friday
On Good Friday, the Friday preceding Easter, Nigeria declares a national holiday. On this day, Christians remember Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death.
Other countries follow the Orthodox calendar, which means that Good Friday may fall on a separate day in some years.
Easter Monday
Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified and resurrected, and his time on earth and doctrines constitute the cornerstone of Christianity.
Easter Monday is the Monday after Easter Sunday, and it is a Christian observance.
In many areas, it was once known as Easter Week, but in the nineteenth century, it was shortened to a one-day celebration.
Workers Day
May Day was originally designated a national holiday in Nigeria by the People Redemption Party (PRP) government of Kano State in 1980. On May 1, 1981, it was declared a public holiday.
The 1st of May is an international holiday. It is most usually connected with commemorating the labour movement’s successes. The festival is also known as International Worker’s Day or May Day, and it is observed in over 80 countries as a bank holiday.
Eid al-Fitr
The Festival of Fast-Breaking, also known as Eid al-Fitr, is a major religious holiday observed by Muslims around the world that commemorates the conclusion of Ramadan, the Islamic sacred season of fasting.
The holiday commemorates the end of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting that Muslims observe throughout the Ramadan period.
Many people refer to Eid al-Fitr as “the Festival of Breaking the Fast.” Fasting from sunrise to sunset throughout the entire month of Ramadan (“Sawm”) is among Islam’s five pillars.
The content of the Qur’an is said to have been unveiled to the Prophet Muhammad all through the month of Ramadan, according to Muslims.
Read: Public Holidays in Nigeria 2021
Children’s Day
Every year on May 27th, Children’s Day is observed to encourage social unity, enlightenment amongst children, and improvements in children’s welfare.
Parents, educators, nurses, doctors, political figures and civic organization activists, religious and cultural authorities, business leaders and media practitioners, as well as youth and children themselves, may all have a role in making Children’s Day meaningful to their cultures, communities, and nations.
Children’s Day provides every one of us with an inspiring starting point for advocating for, promoting, and celebrating children’s rights, which we can then translate into discussions and activities that will help children live in a better society.
Nigerian Democracy Day
Nigeria celebrates Democracy Day as a federal holiday. It is observed annually on the 12th of June. It had formerly been commemorated on May 29th.
The holiday honours the nullified June 12th 1993 national election.
Nigeria has commemorated May 29th as Democracy Day since 2000.
May 29th, 1999 marked the second period in Nigeria’s history that an elected civilian administration was restored following the control of a military regime, with General Olusegun Obasanjo being elected President.
President Buhari declared in June 2018 that Democracy Day would be moved to June 12th in 2019.
The federal government believes that the nullified presidential election of June 12, 1993, is a more befitting cause for Democracy Day than the events of May 1999.
On June 12th, 1993, millions of Nigerians voted in a national election to exercise their constitutional will. The election was widely assumed to have been won by MKO Abiola, the Social Democratic Party’s flag bearer, who ran against Maman Tofa of the National Republican Convention.
Despite the fact that foreign observers largely described the elections as fair and transparent, the results were nullified by then-Military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida due to various irregularities.
To honour the annulled election, some governments have designated June 12th a public holiday in recent years.
Independence Day
Nigeria’s Independence Day is annually observed on October 1st. On this day in 1960, Nigeria was declared independent from British authorities.
Around one-fifth of Africa’s population is Nigerian, making it the largest country on the continent.
Christmas Day
Over 2 billion people (roughly 1/3 of the world’s population) will mark Christ’s birth on 25th December.
According to religious culture, Christmas Day honours the birth of Jesus, which occurred on December 25th, 1 BC. In many countries across the world, December 25th is a bank holiday. If the 25th of December comes on a weekend, a nearby workday will be substituted as a holiday.