The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected allegations of secessionism made by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, over the singing of Nigeria’s former national anthem by supporters of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, during a political gathering in Lagos.
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The opposition party described Keyamo’s allegation as “hair-splitting, unfounded and baseless,” insisting that Obi neither directed supporters to reject the current national anthem nor organised the singing of the former anthem as an act of defiance against Nigeria’s national symbols.
In its response, the NDC maintained that the singing of the former anthem was a spontaneous reaction by some supporters during the Lagos gathering and not a coordinated action by Obi or the party.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, explained that the incident occurred against the backdrop of what the NDC described as public dissatisfaction with the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration and an alleged attack on its supporters.
“He forgot to state that Obi did not ask the crowd not to sing the national anthem. What happened was a spontaneous act of defiance to the ruinous reign of the APC and the hired thugs they sent to attack the NDC members,” the party stated.
The NDC’s allegation that APC-sponsored thugs attacked its supporters was not independently established in the information provided.
The party also disputed the suggestion that the gathering involved a coordinated rejection of Nigeria’s current national anthem, explaining that other participants at the same event sang the officially recognised anthem.
“At another end of the same hall, people recited the national anthem,” the NDC stated.
It maintained that this demonstrated that the singing of the former anthem by some supporters should not be interpreted as an attempt by Obi or the party to reject Nigeria’s national identity.
The opposition party further questioned the APC’s emphasis on the singing of the national anthem as a measure of patriotism, arguing that the government’s performance should be the focus of political debate.
“Since the APC has been reciting the national anthem, where has it led Nigeria?” the NDC asked.
The party accused Keyamo of diverting attention from the alleged attacks on its supporters and broader questions concerning governance.
It maintained that Obi remained committed to national unity and peaceful democratic politics.
The exchange followed Keyamo’s earlier accusation that the NDC’s conduct amounted to an expression of secessionist tendencies, accompanied by a 48-hour ultimatum to NDC leader Seriake Dickson.
In a subsequent post on his X account on Sunday, Keyamo also defended the use of the campaign song, On Your Mandate, to welcome President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at public functions, rejecting comparisons between the song and the singing of Nigeria’s former national anthem at the NDC gathering.
The minister maintained that Tinubu’s supporters never sang On Your Mandate as a replacement for the officially recognised national anthem.
According to him, the national anthem was always rendered at official events before supporters performed the campaign song to celebrate the President.
“At no time have supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sung ON YOUR MANDATE IN PLACE of the National Anthem. At every occasion, the NATIONAL ANTHEM is always sung as a mark of recognition of one of our most important national symbols, and then the President is serenaded by his supporters with ON YOUR MANDATE,” Keyamo stated.
The minister argued that Obi was free to adopt any song, including the former national anthem, as a personal or campaign song.
However, he maintained that such a song should be performed either before or after the legally recognised national anthem, rather than replacing it.
Keyamo also defended the Police Band’s use of the instrumental version of On Your Mandate to announce Tinubu’s arrival at public functions or when the President was about to address an audience.
He explained that the practice was consistent with established presidential protocol, under which the Police Band plays instrumental music to herald the President’s arrival or address.
The minister referred to the administrations of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, maintaining that similar musical arrangements were used during their appearances at the National Assembly and other official functions.
According to him, the instrumental version of On Your Mandate was sometimes played during Tinubu’s appearances, but only after the national anthem had been rendered.
Keyamo further argued that the practice was not unusual, noting that several Nigerian states had their own anthems, which were performed after the national anthem at official functions.
He nevertheless insisted that there was a distinction between adopting a campaign song or state anthem and replacing the legally recognised national anthem with a former one.
The minister accused the NDC of crossing that distinction during the Lagos gathering, describing the alleged substitution as an expression of a desire for a separate country.
“Singing an outlawed anthem IN PLACE of a legally approved NATIONAL ANTHEM by the NDC is surely an expression of a desire to have a separate country, and that is an INGREDIENT OF A SECESSIONIST GROUP,” Keyamo declared.
The NDC, however, maintained in its response to Keyamo’s earlier allegation that Obi had not instructed supporters to reject the current anthem and that both the former and current anthems were sung at the event.
The party insisted that the spontaneous conduct of some supporters should not be attributed to a deliberate decision by its presidential candidate or interpreted as evidence of secessionist intentions.
It also argued that political discussion should focus on governance and the circumstances surrounding the alleged attacks on its supporters rather than the singing of the former national anthem.
The NDC response reported on November 15 addressed Keyamo’s earlier secession allegation and ultimatum to Seriake Dickson. It was not established as a separate response to the minister’s subsequent explanation concerning the use of On Your Mandate at Tinubu’s public engagements.
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