Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the playing of President Bola Tinubu’s campaign anthem, “On Your Mandate,” at the opening session of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference, describing the incident as “reckless, scandalous, shameful, disgraceful, and deeply irresponsible.”
In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Atiku said he initially assumed the footage aired by Channels TV was a deep fake, but later confirmed that the song was indeed played at the end of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun’s speech.
The National Judicial Institute, NJI, has denied that judges sang ‘On Your Mandate We Shall Stand’ for President Bola Tinubu during the 2025 Judges Conference held in Abuja on Monday.
However, the former Vice President said he expected clarification from the Presidency or the Chief Justice, but none was issued.
Atiku alleged that the incident reflects what he described as an ongoing attempt by the Tinubu administration to influence state institutions and move Nigeria toward a one-party system.
He said the event occurred on the same day President Tinubu addressed judges on integrity and the rule of law.
Atiku accused the administration of undermining the independence of the judiciary by allowing partisan music to be played at a formal judicial gathering, arguing that such an act contradicts the President’s call for public confidence in the justice system.
Atiku maintained that judges have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and not to align with any individual or political agenda, urging Nigerians to condemn the incident in defence of constitutional democracy.
He said: “On Monday, I was sent a video clip from Channels TV’s coverage of the opening session of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference. What I saw was nothing short of an assault on our national dignity: “On Your Mandate,” President Tinubu’s personal political anthem, was brazenly played in place of the National Anthem at the end of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun’s speech.
“My first instinct was to dismiss it as a deepfake. But once it was confirmed to be authentic—an actual reflection of what transpired on the very day President Tinubu lectured the judiciary on integrity and the rule of law, I waited for an explanation from the Presidency or the office of the CJN. Silence. Total, deafening silence.
“This incident is not isolated. The Tinubu-led APC government has consistently pursued a systematic capture of state institutions, crushing opposition voices, and steering Nigeria toward a de facto one-party state.
“Ironically, on the same day, President Tinubu stood before Nigerian judges and sermonized about safeguarding integrity and upholding the sanctity of their profession. He stressed that “confidence is the lifeblood of justice,” and that public perception must be fiercely protected to sustain our democracy.
“Yet, while preaching morality, his administration allowed (or engineered) the playing of his own partisan campaign music before the entire Nigerian judiciary—a shocking desecration of protocol, ethics, and national pride.
“Let it be said clearly and without hesitation: Replacing the National Anthem with Tinubu’s “On Your Mandate” in a hall full of judges is reckless, scandalous, disgraceful, and deeply irresponsible. It is the most blatant signal yet that this government is attempting to drag the judiciary into the partisan gutters of the APC, if not coerce a wholesale “defection” of Nigerian judges into political alignment.
“How can confidence be built when the executive arm openly inserts partisan propaganda into a solemn judicial gathering? How can judges dispense justice fearlessly when Tinubu’s operatives are busy eroding the boundaries between state, party, and personal ambition?
“Let the records be clear: Nigerian judges swore an oath to defend the Constitution, justice, and the rule of law, not to stand “on the mandate” of Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any other individual. This affront must be condemned by all who still believe in constitutional democracy.”
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