Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday criticized the National Orientation Agency (NOA) for disseminating an incorrect version of the newly reinstated old National Anthem.
Akpabio pointed out that the version being circulated by the NOA differs from the one approved by the Senate.
Following over two hours of executive sessions, the Senate adjourned the plenary to July 2.
Before ending the session, Akpabio requested that the Senate recite the first stanza of the new National Anthem.
During the recitation, Akpabio referred to his book intermittently. After they finished, he said that the Senate-approved version should be the only one in use, and the NOA should discard their incorrect version.
He highlighted specific discrepancies, saying, “Take note of what we have here; what we have is different from what the NOA has. Where we have ‘Nigerians all are proud to say,’ they have ‘Nigerians all and proud to say.’ Also, where we have ‘though tribes and tongues may differ,’ they have ‘those tribe and tongues.’ At the end, where we have ‘Nigeria shall be blessed,’ they have ‘Nigeria may be blessed.’”
Akpabio stressed, “We are using ‘shall,’ which is a compulsion that this country shall be blessed, so, tell the National Orientation Agency to drop what they are circulating now.”
Two weeks ago, the Senate passed the National Anthem Bill 2024 to revert to the old national anthem, “Nigeria, we hail thee,” replacing the “Arise, O Compatriots” version.
The bill was quickly passed through first and second readings on the same day and was assented to by President Bola Tinubu on May 29.
