Tinubu at joint session, National Anthem Bill, Ningi’s recall from suspension top stories from Senate

The Senate commenced activities last Monday with the public hearing on the bill to revert to the old national anthem.

The hearing was jointly organised by the Senate Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters and Internal Affairs, to which it was referred last Thursday after it scaled second reading.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, represented the federal government at the hearing.

Mr Fagbemi, in his remarks, urged members of the National Assembly to subject the Bill to wider consultations before passing it.

The minister said there was a need for a wider process where Nigerians and other arms and tiers of government would participate in the decision to revert to the old national anthem before it finally becomes law.

He specifically proposed consultations through zonal public hearings, resolutions of the Federal Executive Council, Council of State, National and State Assemblies, etc.

On his part, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, recommended that the scope of the bill should be expanded to include a robust issue of national identity rather than limiting it to a change of national anthem.

Mr Idris, represented by the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Lanre Issa-Onilu, noted that some lines in the old national anthem do not make a complete meaning.

But the senators disagreed with the concerns of the two ministers, insisting that there was no need to subject the bill to a wider consultation.

Senate passes bill to revert to old national anthem

The Senate on Tuesday passed the bill.

The bill seeks to replace the current anthem with the former one adopted at independence on October 1, 1960, but dropped in 1978 by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime.

The passage was against the federal government’s recommendations at Monday’s public hearing on the bill.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the bill’s passage, and most senators supported it through voice votes.

The bill was considered and approved by the Committee of the Whole.

The upper chamber passed the bill after considering a report of its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, presented by Tahir Monguno, its chairman.

Mr Monguno, while presenting the report, disagreed with the recommendations and positions of the two ministers.

He stressed that the bill does not require a wider consultation as recommended by the AGF.

The senator said reverting to the old anthem will promote brotherhood among Nigerians and help unite them irrespective of ethnic or religious links.

Mr Monguno, after that, recommended that the bill be passed.

The House of Representatives had passed the bill the previous week.

President Bola Tinubu signed the bill into law on Wednesday.

Senate recalls Ningi from suspension

The Senate on Tuesday recalled Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), suspended two months ago for accusing its leadership of fraudulently smuggling projects into the 2024 budget.

The upper chamber announced Mr Ningi’s recall after it resumed from a closed-door session which lasted for over one hour.

The resolution to recall the senator was a sequel to a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader, Abba Moro, during the plenary on Tuesday.

The motion was also co-sponsored by the Deputy Minority Leader, Olalere Oyewunmi, and the Minority Whip, Osita Ngwu.

The upper chamber suspended Mr Ningi on 12 March.

The lawmaker had claimed that he sought the services of a private auditor to review the budget and discovered some projects that did not have locations.

PREMIUM TIMES reviewed Mr Ningi’s claim and found it to be true.

At the time he made the claim, Mr Ningi was the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF).

Mr Moro, while presenting the motion, said the Senate minority caucus takes full responsibility for the ‘offence’ of Mr Ningi.

After that, he apologised to the Senate leadership on behalf of Mr Ningi.

It is expected that Mr Ningi, a former member of the House of Representatives, will take his seat at the Senate when it reconvenes on Tuesday.

Tinubu attends the joint sitting of both chambers

On Wednesday, the Senate and the House of Representatives convened a joint session to mark the 25 years of unbroken democratic governance in Nigeria.

President Tinubu, a Third Republic senator, was on hand to witness the event, during which he addressed the lawmakers for about seven minutes.

It was the second time the president addressed the joint session of the Federal legislature since he assumed office in May 2023. The first time was during the presentation of the 2024 Budget in November.

Thereafter, President Tinubu commissioned the National Assembly Library building named after him.

Some other members of the executive arm accompanied the president to the National Assembly complex located in the Three Arms Zone.