The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has declared that only irresponsible Nigerians would vote for the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), following the controversy surrounding the party’s supporters singing Nigeria’s former national anthem at a political gathering in Lagos.
Keyamo made the remarks on Friday during an interview on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, monitored by DAILY POST in Abeokuta.
The controversy followed an incident on Thursday in which the NDC presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, alongside the party’s Lagos governorship candidate, Funso Doherty, and other supporters, sang the former national anthem, Nigeria, We Hail Thee, instead of the current anthem.
The former anthem was replaced in 1978.
Reacting to the development, Keyamo said Nigerians should consider the conduct of the opposition party when deciding whether its members possess the responsibility and maturity required to occupy political offices.
The minister drew a comparison with criticisms directed at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that the same political language should be applied to the NDC.
“Like they say of APC, they say it’s only mad men that will vote for APC. So let me return the campaign slogan, it’s only irresponsible people that will vote for that type of party called NDC that defy national symbols, it’s only irresponsible that will vote for them,” Keyamo said.
He argued that disregarding national symbols, disrespecting the law and showing disregard for the office of the President were issues Nigerians should consider when assessing the party’s suitability for leadership.
“For me, it is left for the Nigerian people to decide whether these human beings you have now seen disregarding national symbols, disrespecting the law and disrespecting the office of the president that they so crave whether they are responsible enough to aspire to that office,” he stated.
Keyamo further claimed that the incident could cost the NDC the support of moderate and intellectually inclined voters, although some supporters might applaud the action as an expression of political defiance.
“They have lost the cerebral and the in-betweens. They have lost them by that action. Maybe those who are downright irresponsible, they will hail them and they will vote for them. But we’ll see on election day how many Nigerians are irresponsible,” he added.
However, when asked whether singing the former national anthem amounted to a violation of the law, the minister clarified that he was unaware of any specific legal penalty attached to the action.
He explained that although the current national anthem had been formally adopted through legislation, the absence of a prescribed punishment meant that singing the former anthem did not automatically amount to a punishable criminal offence.
“There’s no penalty that is prescribed by law. No penalty. The law just says this is our new national anthem and then you should think we should all abide by it. It becomes a crime when there’s a penalty attached to it,” Keyamo said.
He maintained that he regarded the action as political defiance, adding that Nigerians would ultimately decide whether it reflected the kind of leadership they wanted for the country.
