Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for repeatedly referring to President Bola Tinubu simply as “Bola” during a press conference in Abuja.
Keyamo described the manner of address as “very disrespectful and discourteous,” arguing that political disagreements should not diminish the dignity attached to the office of the President. He made the remarks in a post on X on Friday.
“The continuous reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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, the office of the President should be accorded the dignity it deserves.
Keyamo also referred to Atiku’s recent comments about Tinubu’s age, arguing that it was contradictory for Atiku to describe Tinubu as an elder while addressing him by his first name. The minister further alleged that the tone of Atiku’s remarks reflected personal grievances, a characterisation attributable to Keyamo rather than an established fact.
The criticism followed Atiku’s Friday press conference, where he urged Tinubu to take steps to reduce petrol prices and ease the economic pressure on Nigerians.
Atiku said the President should be willing to adopt his proposed intervention regardless of who originated the idea, adding that Tinubu could rename the proposal and take credit for it if it ultimately resulted in lower petrol prices for Nigerians.
The exchange comes ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Atiku representing the ADC and Tinubu expected to seek another term under the All Progressives Congress.
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