President Bola Tinubu has officially signed a bill reintroducing Nigeria’s old national anthem, "Nigeria, We Hail Thee," into law. This was announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Akpabio stated that the president signed the bill on Wednesday morning. He also mentioned that Tinubu would launch the rendition of the old national anthem during the joint session of the National Assembly yesterday.

The anthem "Nigeria, We Hail Thee" had been replaced in 1978 by "Arise, O Compatriots."

However, Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, noted that Tinubu would not deliver a "state of the nation" address as previously announced, explaining that yesterday (May 29) is not officially designated as Democracy Day. Abbas apologized for the earlier miscommunication.

The bill was swiftly passed by the House of Representatives on May 23, followed by the Senate's approval on Tuesday. Presenting the judiciary committee's report on the bill, Chairman Tahir Monguno said the committee disagreed with Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi’s suggestion that the process to change the anthem should be subjected to a more extensive review.

During the public hearing, Fagbemi had argued that the decision to change the national anthem should not be made hastily but should involve a broader consultation process.