Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over his repeated reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as “Bola” during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.
Keyamo, in a post on his official X account, described Atiku’s reference to the President by his first name as “very disrespectful and discourteous.” He maintained that political disagreements should not prevent the office of the President from receiving the dignity and respect attached to it.
“The continuous reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu @officialABAT by His Excellency, ex Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in his Press Conference earlier today as ‘Bola’ is very disrespectful and discourteous,” Keyamo said.
He added that, regardless of political differences, Atiku should recognise the importance of preserving the dignity of the presidency.
“He should know better that no matter your differences with Mr. President, for the sake of the country, that office should be accorded all the dignity it deserves,” the minister stated.
Keyamo also accused the former vice-president of speaking from a position of personal grievance, claiming that the tone of Atiku’s remarks “reeks of pain and bitterness in his heart.”
The minister further referenced Atiku’s recent comments concerning their ages, arguing that it was contradictory for Atiku to describe Tinubu as older than himself while also addressing the President by his first name.
“After all, he made the outlandish claim the other day that Mr. President is older than himself. It is therefore a contradiction that he would also refer to an ‘elder’ by his first name,” Keyamo said.
The criticism followed comments by Atiku during the same press conference, where he urged President Tinubu to consider government intervention to reduce the price of petrol and ease the economic pressure on Nigerians.
Atiku said the President should be willing to adopt his proposal regardless of who receives political credit for the initiative.
“Bola Tinubu should not be ashamed to do what is necessary to lower the price of petrol simply because Atiku Abubakar proposed a government intervention,” he said.
The former vice-president added that the President could rename the initiative and take credit for it if necessary, arguing that the priority should be reducing the financial burden on Nigerians.
“He should just take the idea, rename it if he wishes, and even take the credit. What matters to me is that Nigerians pay less,” Atiku said.
The exchange highlights the continuing political disagreements between the Tinubu administration and opposition figures over economic policy, the cost of petrol and the broader response to Nigeria’s rising cost of living.