Nigerian National Anthem: Lawyers threaten lawsuit against Tinubu over reintroduction of old anthem

The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), a civil society organisation composed of legal experts, has announced its intention to file a lawsuit at the Federal High Court challenging the newly enacted National Anthem Act, 2024.

This legislation, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, reinstates the former national anthem, “Nigeria, We Hail Thee.” ALDRAP seeks to contest this reintroduction on constitutional grounds.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by its Secretary, Tonye Jaja, ALDRAP outlined its objections to the enactment of the law, arguing that it did not comply with necessary constitutional requirements, rendering it unconstitutional.

The statement read: “The lawsuit will challenge the National Anthem Act, 2024, based on several key reasons:

1. No public hearing was held prior to the legislation’s enactment, as required under Section 60 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
2. Members of the public were not invited to contribute, unlike the process followed when the previous national anthem was enacted in 1978.
3. There was no formal transmission of the bill from the President to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as mandated.
4. The expenditures associated with the National Anthem Act, 2024, were not included in the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s 2024 budget, according to the Accountant-General of the Federation, making the Act illegal.”

ALDRAP further contended that the financial burden of implementing the old national anthem would be impractical and strain the nation’s resources. This includes costs related to man-hours, updating official documents, and other related expenses, which the group argued would be too high for ordinary citizens to bear without a corresponding increase in income.

Citing the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981), ALDRAP emphasised that any law failing to comply with each stage of the legislative process prescribed by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution should be declared null and void.

The respondents in the case include the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and several other government officials.

President Tinubu signed the National Anthem Act, 2024, into law on 29 May, effectively reinstating “Nigeria, We Hail Thee” as the country’s official national anthem.