The bill to revert to the old national anthem has passed second reading at the Senate. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to report back as soon as possible.

The Senate after a closed door which lasted for over an hour, and immediately read the bill for a first and second reading subsequently.

At the executive and closed session during Thursday's plenary, the lawmakers had deliberated on changing the national anthem to the previous one.

After a closed door session to debate on the bill, the lawmakers came to a conclusion that the current national anthem is a product of the military junta, and should be discarded to adequately capture the nations democratic values, integrity and principally foster commitment to nationhood.

The Bill sponsored by the Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) seeks to replace the anthem with the former one ‘Nigeria, We Hail Thee’, which was adopted as the country’s first national anthem on October 1, 1960 but was dropped in 1978 by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to report back as soon as possible.