Keyamo Gives Dickson 48 Hours to Clarify NDC’s Stand on Old Anthem

Posted by African Examiner African News, Agabus Pwanagba, Anambra Election, Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Saturday, November 14th, 2026

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) — Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has given Senator Seriake Dickson, leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), 48 hours to say whether the party supports the use of Nigeria’s former national anthem.

Keyamo said this in a post on X on Saturday. He argued that a national anthem is a national symbol that represents the country’s history, values and sovereignty, and is meant to unite citizens.

He warned that a group singing a different anthem from the one prescribed by law is laying the groundwork to break away from the country, and that if its leader endorses the act, the group becomes a secessionist movement.

The minister’s demand followed an incident at an NDC town hall meeting in Oregun, Lagos, on Thursday, where some attendees sang the old anthem, “Arise, O Compatriots,” instead of the current one, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.”

Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, was seen among those singing the old anthem.

The party’s Lagos governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, later said the singing was a spontaneous reaction in an emotional atmosphere. He said the current anthem was also performed at the event, and that Nigeria has only one officially recognised national anthem.

In a radio interview on Eagle 102.5 FM on Friday, Keyamo criticised Obi and other NDC members, accusing them of disrespecting national symbols, the law and the office of the President. He said Nigerians should decide whether such people are fit to hold office.

However, Keyamo admitted that the law prescribes no penalty for singing the former anthem.

The controversy follows the Federal Government’s decision in May 2024 to bring back “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” which was first used at independence in 1960 and replaced in 1978. President Bola Tinubu signed the National Anthem Bill into law on May 29, 2024. The change has drawn mixed reactions, with some supporting it as a return to national identity and others questioning its relevance amid economic and security challenges.