Tinubu signs bill reinstating old national anthem

President Bola Tinubu has signed the National Anthem Bill 2024, which reinstates the old national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio made this announcement on Wednesday, May 29, at a joint session of the National Assembly that also commemorated the 25th anniversary of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

According to reports from Channels TV, President Tinubu is expected to attend the joint session.

Also according to Akpabio unveiling of the new national anthem is the primary goal of the event.

He added that the President won’t be giving an address since he has to leave to officially open the Abuja metro line.

The legislation to replace the national anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” with “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” had previously been adopted in separate sessions by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The older national anthem of Nigeria, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which was first accepted on October 1, 1960, has superseded the previous song, “Arise, O Compatriots.”

Frances Berda composed the music for “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” while Lillian Jean Williams, a British expatriate who lived in Nigeria during the country’s independence process, wrote the words.