President Bola Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) were heard reciting Nigeria’s former national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” during a cabinet meeting on Monday, despite the Federal Government’s official restoration of “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” as the country’s national anthem.
The development was captured in a video from the FEC meeting that has since circulated widely across social media platforms, sparking public reactions.
In the footage, President Tinubu and members of his cabinet were seen reciting “Arise, O Compatriots,” the anthem that ceased to be Nigeria’s official national anthem after the President signed the National Anthem Bill 2024 into law on May 29, 2024.
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The legislation reinstated “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” Nigeria’s original national anthem first adopted at independence in 1960, replacing the anthem introduced in 1978.
The restoration followed the enactment of the National Anthem Act, 2024, which officially replaced “Arise, O Compatriots” with the country’s former anthem.
The video has generated questions over why the superseded anthem was recited during an official Federal Executive Council meeting more than two years after the change took effect.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not issued any official explanation regarding the incident or whether it resulted from an oversight.