Fintiri Urges Nigerians to Choose Unity This Eid-el-Fitri

The morning prayers had barely ended across mosques in Adamawa State when Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri stepped forward with a message that carried the quiet weight of the season. On Wednesday, as Muslims across Nigeria marked Eid al-Fitri to celebrate the close of the holy month of Ramadan, the governor did not simply offer congratulations and move on. He spoke with clear intent, reaching past the festivities to address something deeper.

Fintiri wished Adamawa residents a heartfelt Eid Mubarak and used the occasion to call on all Nigerians to embrace tolerance and unity, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. He framed these not as aspirational ideals but as the very conditions any nation serious about its future must build upon.

“Nigeria can only progress if citizens prioritise brotherly love and harmonious coexistence,” the governor said, adding that working together as one people remains the surest path through the challenges that continue to test ordinary Nigerians every day.

His words landed at a moment when those challenges feel especially close to home for many families. Food costs have climbed sharply in recent months, and the celebration of Sallah, which usually comes with festive spending, gifts, and travel, has been noticeably quieter in homes across Adamawa and much of northern Nigeria. Yet the sense of communal belonging that Eid always carries has not disappeared entirely, and Fintiri clearly wanted to use that spirit before it faded.

The governor drew directly from the lessons of Ramadan, urging Nigerians to carry them forward long after the celebrations have passed. He spoke about love, forgiveness, and brotherhood as values that must outlast the season and become the everyday currency of how people relate to one another across all divides. In a country as layered and complex as Nigeria, that is no small ask.

He also acknowledged what he described as recent ugly developments in the country and did not shy away from calling on traditional and religious leaders to step into the gap. He urged them to promote vigilance and a stronger sense of security awareness during and after the Sallah festivities, while asking citizens to avoid crowded public spaces where risks could easily rise.

For Adamawa, this kind of message carries particular weight. The state has long been home to communities of different faiths living side by side, sharing streets, markets, and schools across generations. That coexistence has not always been easy to maintain. But it has endured, and Fintiri took time to thank residents for choosing it, year after year. He described Adamawa’s diversity as its quiet strength, noting that the decision to build peace rather than feed division has kept the state standing while others have struggled.

The governor also reflected on seven years of progress under his administration, describing development in the state as appreciable even amid the economic pressures bearing down on households. He encouraged citizens to continue supporting government programmes designed to reach every community in Adamawa, stressing that the administration’s goal remains to leave no one behind.

Fintiri reserved special recognition for the security forces working across the state. He credited their steady presence with helping to preserve the stability that makes any meaningful progress possible and expressed confidence that more can still be achieved through collective effort between government, citizens, and security agencies.

The statement was released by Humwashi Wonosikou, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, on 19th March 2026.

For The Gazette News (Nigeria), this Eid-el-Fitri 2026 message from Adamawa’s governor arrives as more than seasonal goodwill. It is a measured appeal to a country still working through its own complexity. Ramadan may be over, but the call to choose unity over division and compassion over contempt is one that never quite goes out of season in Nigeria.