The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, called out the National Orientation Agency for teaching Nigerians the wrong version of the newly adopted old National Anthem.
Akpabio noted that what the agency was circulating was different from the one approved by the Senate.
The Senate after deliberations had gone on executive sessions for over two hours, after which the Senate adjourned plenary to July 2.
Before the Senate ended the plenary, Akpabio requested that the Senate recite the first stanza of the new National Anthem.
While the lawmakers recited the anthem, the Senate President looked at his book intermittently.
After they were done, Akpabio stated that the lawmakers should take note of the wordings of the anthem approved by the Senate and discard the one being presented by the NOA.
He said, “Take note of what we have here; what we have is different from what the NOA has.
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“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
“Also at the end where we have ‘Nigeria shall be blessed’, they have Nigeria ‘may’ be blessed.”
“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,” the Senate President said.
The Senate had two weeks ago, 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, which speedily passed first and second readings on the same day, was assented to by President Bola Tinubu on May 29.
(PUNCH)