The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, a civil society organization comprised of lawyers, has announced its intention to launch a lawsuit in the Federal High Court challenging the newly approved National Anthem Act, 2024.
The legislation, which was signed into law on Tuesday, reinstalled the former national anthem, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’, which the organization hopes to contest through legal action.
The body of lawyers announced their decision on Friday in a statement signed by its secretary, Tonye Jaja, arguing that the law’s enactment failed to meet the necessary constitutional conditions, rendering it invalid.
The statement read, “The lawsuit would be challenging the National Anthem Act, 2024, because of the following reasons:
“No public hearing was held before the said legislation was enacted as required under Section 60 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.
“Members of the public were not invited to make their contributions, as was done when the other national anthem was enacted in 1978.
“There was no letter of transmission of the said bill from the President to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, National Assembly.
“The expenditures associated with the National Anthem Act, 2024 (which was done on May 29, 2024, and on other dates) are not captured in the Budget of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Act, 2024 (as can be attested to by the Accountant-General of the Federation), and therefore the said National Anthem Act, 2024, should be declared illegal.”
According to the lawyers, the National Anthem Act of 2024 should be declared null and unconstitutional due to its impracticality and propensity to inflict financial hardship on individuals.
The lawyers stated that the financial burden of establishing the new national anthem would include fees for man-hours, revising official documents, and other relevant charges.
The lawyers contended that these expenditures would be too high for regular residents to endure, especially without a matching increase in income.
Stating the grounds for the lawsuit, the statement adds, “Attorney-General of Bendel State vs. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981) is the major grounds of our application: any law that fails to comply with each stage of the legislative procedures of lawmaking as prescribed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution would be declared null and void and of no effect.”
The respondents in the lawsuit include the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and numerous other government officials.
On May 29, Tinubu signed the National Song Act, 2024, which essentially reinstated the former national song, ‘Nigeria, we hail thee’, as the country’s official anthem.
