The Lagos State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Funso Doherty, has said the singing of Nigeria’s former national anthem at the party’s town hall meeting in Lagos was a spontaneous reaction by attendees.
Doherty made the clarification during an interview on Nigeria Info 99.3FM on Friday, following criticism of the incident involving the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and other attendees.
He explained that the current national anthem was also sung after the crowd had recited the former version, insisting that the event organisers did not plan or orchestrate the switch.
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According to him, the reaction came from members of the audience and was difficult for organisers to control in the atmosphere surrounding the gathering.
Doherty said the official national anthem was eventually performed, adding that Nigeria has only one recognised national anthem.
The controversy followed Thursday’s NDC town hall meeting in Lagos, where Obi and other attendees did not stand when invited to sing the current national anthem, ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’.
The event anchor subsequently switched to the former anthem, ‘Arise, O Compatriots’, which Obi, Doherty and other supporters sang.
The incident attracted criticism from Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico, Reno Omokri.
Wike accused Obi of disrespecting the country’s national symbols, arguing that his decision not to stand for the current anthem while rising for the former version raised questions about his commitment to national unity.
Omokri also criticised Obi and the attendees, describing the national anthem as one of the symbols that unite Nigerians.
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