President Bola Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, were heard reciting Nigeria’s former national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” during a Federal Executive Council meeting, despite the Federal Government’s reinstatement of “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” as the country’s official anthem.
The incident was captured in a video from the FEC meeting that circulated on Monday.
In the footage, President Tinubu and several ministers were seen reciting “Arise, O Compatriots,” the anthem that ceased to be Nigeria’s official national anthem after the President signed the National Anthem Act, 2024, into law on May 29, 2024.
The legislation restored “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” the anthem first used at Nigeria’s independence in 1960, replacing “Arise, O Compatriots,” which had been adopted in 1978.
The video has sparked questions over why the former anthem was used during an official government meeting more than two years after the policy change.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not issued any official explanation regarding the recitation of the old national anthem during the FEC meeting.
