Public Holidays in Nigeria 2026 and 2027: Dates and Days
Every federal public holiday in Nigeria for 2026 and 2027 with its day of the week, the ones that land on a weekend, and the long weekends to plan around.
Nigeria’s public holidays for 2026 are declared up to Independence Day. Only Christmas Day and Boxing Day are left, on a Friday and a Saturday. In 2027 the calendar is less kind: Workers’ Day, Democracy Day, Christmas Day and Boxing Day all fall on a weekend, and two of the three Islamic holidays are expected to as well.
The fixed holidays below come from the Schedule to the Public Holidays Act. The declared dates come from the statements the Federal Ministry of Interior issues before each holiday. The Ministry’s own website was showing a service-unavailable page, so we read its statements in the Internet Archive’s saved copies of that site and on the Federal Ministry of Information’s website, which republishes them.
Public holidays in 2026
| Holiday | Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 1 January | Thursday | Declared |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | 19 and 20 March | Thursday and Friday | Declared |
| Good Friday | 3 April | Friday | Declared |
| Easter Monday | 6 April | Monday | Declared |
| Workers’ Day | 1 May | Friday | Declared |
| Eid-ul-Adha | 27 and 28 May | Wednesday and Thursday | Declared |
| Democracy Day | 12 June | Friday | Declared |
| Eid-ul-Mawlid | 25 August | Tuesday | Declared |
| Independence Day | 1 October | Thursday | Declared |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Friday | Fixed by the Act, not yet declared |
| Boxing Day | 26 December | Saturday | Not yet declared |
That is 13 holiday dates, 12 of them on working days. Boxing Day is the odd one out, and what happens to it is covered under the weekend rule below.
The Ministry announces each holiday only days ahead. In 2026 its Workers’ Day statement was dated 29 April, the Eid-ul-Adha one 25 May and the Democracy Day one 11 June. The Eid-ul-Mawlid statement was published on 21 August and the Independence Day one on 30 September, the day before the holiday.
Public holidays in 2027
Nothing for 2027 has been declared. The fixed dates are certain. The three Islamic dates are expected dates only, taken from Saudi Arabia’s Umm al-Qura calendar as tabulated by Utrecht University. They depend on the sighting of the moon, and the Ministry confirms them shortly before.
| Holiday | Date | Day | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 1 January | Friday | Fixed |
| Eid-ul-Fitr | 9 March | Tuesday | Expected |
| Good Friday | 26 March | Friday | Fixed |
| Easter Monday | 29 March | Monday | Fixed |
| Workers’ Day | 1 May | Saturday | Fixed |
| Eid-ul-Adha | 16 May | Sunday | Expected |
| Democracy Day | 12 June | Saturday | Fixed |
| Eid-ul-Mawlid | 14 August | Saturday | Expected |
| Independence Day | 1 October | Friday | Fixed |
| Christmas Day | 25 December | Saturday | Fixed |
| Boxing Day | 26 December | Sunday | Declared each year |
Easter Sunday is 28 March in 2027, which puts Good Friday and Easter Monday eight days earlier than in 2026.
How far to trust the expected dates: all three Islamic holidays Nigeria declared in 2026 matched that calendar. In 2025 the Eid-ul-Mawlid holiday was declared for Friday 5 September, a day after the calendar’s date. Allow a day either way.
What the Act lists
The Schedule to the Public Holidays Act has ten entries:
- New Year’s Day
- Good Friday
- Easter Monday
- Workers’ Day, 1 May
- Democracy Day, 12 June
- National Day, 1 October
- Christmas Day
- The day the Minister declares for Id el Fitr
- The day the Minister declares for Id el Kabir, which the Ministry now calls Eid-ul-Adha
- The day the Minister declares for the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, Id el Maulud
The copy of the Act that PLAC publishes still shows Democracy Day as 29 May. An amendment passed in 2019 replaced “29th May” with “12th June” in that entry, and 29 May is no longer a public holiday.
Three things people treat as fixed are not in the Schedule: Boxing Day and the second day of each Eid. They are holidays because the government declares them every year. Section 2 of the Act lets the President appoint a special day as a public holiday, and lets a state Governor do the same within the state. The statement for Christmas 2025 named Friday 26 December for Boxing Day, and both Eid statements in 2026 named two days.
The same power produces one-off holidays. Tuesday 15 July 2025 was declared in honour of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, and Monday 29 May 2023 was declared work-free for the presidential inauguration.
Children’s Day, 27 May, is not in the Schedule either, though the old version of this page listed it. In 2026 it was a public holiday anyway, because Eid-ul-Adha began that day.
When a holiday falls on a weekend
Section 5 of the Act is blunt. A holiday that falls on a Saturday or a Sunday is kept on that day, and no other day is given in its place. When two holidays fall on a Friday and a Saturday, only the Friday is kept. When two fall on a Sunday and a Monday, only the Monday is kept.
Section 5 is subject to section 3, which lets the Minister appoint another day in place of a holiday. That is what the Ministry’s own statements show it doing:
- 2020: Christmas was a Friday and Boxing Day a Saturday, as in 2026. The holidays declared were Friday 25 and Monday 28 December.
- 2021: Workers’ Day was a Saturday and Monday 3 May was declared. Democracy Day was a Saturday and Monday 14 June was declared. Christmas and Boxing Day fell on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December were declared, with Monday 3 January 2022 for New Year’s Day.
- 2022: Independence Day was a Saturday and Monday 3 October was declared.
- Islamic holidays: Eid-ul-Adha fell on a Sunday in 2024 and the Monday and Tuesday, 17 and 18 June, were declared. Eid-ul-Mawlid fell on a Saturday in 2022 and Monday 10 October was declared.
For 2026 that leaves one open question: whether Monday 28 December is declared for Boxing Day, as it was in 2020.
For 2027 it matters much more. The fixed dates sit on the same days of the week as they did in 2021. If the government repeats what it did then, Monday 3 May, Monday 14 June, Monday 27 December and Tuesday 28 December become holidays. None of that is declared, and the Act on its own gives no day in lieu. Treat those Mondays as likely, not certain.
Islamic holidays and the moon
The Act does not fix these three dates. It says each is the day the Minister declares, and the declaration comes a few days before: the 2026 Eid-ul-Fitr statement was published on 17 March for a holiday starting on the 19th.
The declared days can still change. In 2024 the government declared 9 and 10 April for Eid-el-Fitr, then approved Thursday 11 April as an additional day. The Act also covers the opposite case: if the declared day turns out not to be the day of the festival, those observing it may lawfully take time off work on the actual day.
Ramadan itself is not a public holiday. In 2027 the same calendar puts its first day on Monday 8 February.
Long weekends for planning a trip
Three long weekends in 2027 are certain, because they rest on fixed dates that already touch a weekend:
- New Year: Friday 1 to Sunday 3 January, three days.
- Easter: Friday 26 to Monday 29 March, four days. This is the longest break you can book without waiting for anyone to declare anything.
- Independence Day: Friday 1 to Sunday 3 October, three days.
The rest depend on a declaration:
- Christmas 2026: Friday 25 to Sunday 27 December is three days as the calendar stands, and four if Monday 28 is declared.
- Workers’ Day: Saturday 1 to Monday 3 May, if the Monday is declared as in 2021.
- Eid-ul-Adha: expected on Sunday 16 May. A repeat of 2024 would make Saturday 15 to Tuesday 18 May a four-day break.
- Democracy Day: Saturday 12 to Monday 14 June, if the Monday is declared.
- Eid-ul-Mawlid: expected on Saturday 14 August, with Monday 16 August the likely holiday.
- Christmas 2027: Saturday 25 to Tuesday 28 December, four days, if 2021 is repeated.
Eid-ul-Fitr is expected on a Tuesday, so it only becomes a long break if you take the Monday off yourself.
Book the three certain weekends as early as you like. For the others, pay for nothing you cannot change until the Ministry has spoken, which in 2026 was between one and four days before each holiday. Our list of domestic airlines in Nigeria covers the carriers, and game reserves in Nigeria has somewhere to go for three or four days.
Quick answers
Is Easter a public holiday in Nigeria?
Good Friday and Easter Monday are both in the Schedule to the Public Holidays Act. Easter Sunday is not listed. In 2027 they fall on 26 and 29 March.
Is Monday a public holiday when a holiday falls on a weekend?
Not automatically. Section 5 of the Act says no day is given in lieu. The Minister can appoint one and has often done so, as in 2021 and 2022, but only the Ministry’s statement makes it a holiday.
When is the Sallah holiday in 2027?
Eid-ul-Fitr is expected on Tuesday 9 March and Eid-ul-Adha on Sunday 16 May, by the Umm al-Qura calendar. Both depend on the moon and are confirmed by the Ministry of Interior a few days before.
Is 29 May still a public holiday?
No. The 2019 amendment moved Democracy Day to 12 June. In 2023 the day was declared work-free for the presidential inauguration, as a one-off.
How do I know if tomorrow is a public holiday in Nigeria?
Look for the Ministry of Interior’s statement, signed by its Permanent Secretary. The Federal Ministry of Information republishes each one on its website. A date passed around on WhatsApp without that statement is a guess.
