Nigeria’s former national anthem was mistakenly played during the opening of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national caucus meeting at the State House in Abuja on Thursday night.
President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas were all in attendance at the event held in the villa’s banquet hall.
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The error occurred as the dignitaries were ushered into the hall and the national anthem was about to be performed. The band initially played the instrumental of the old anthem, “Arise O Compatriot.”
President Tinubu and other party members appeared momentarily confused before the musicians corrected the mistake, switching to the reintroduced anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee,” midway through the rendition.
On May 29, President Tinubu signed a bill reinstating “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” as the national anthem. The song was originally adopted from 1960 to 1988, replacing “Arise, O Compatriots,” which had been used from 1988 to early 2024.
The APC caucus meeting also marked the first session presided over by Nentawe Yilwatda, the party’s national chairman.
