Atiku's 'Bola' Jab Sparks Political Outrage

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sunday Dare, have both sternly criticized former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for his repeated reference to President Bola Tinubu simply as “Bola” during a recent press conference in Abuja. This manner of address has been widely condemned as disrespectful and undignified, undermining the office of the President.

Festus Keyamo, expressing his concerns on his X handle, labeled Atiku Abubakar's continuous use of the President's first name as “very disrespectful and discourteous.” He emphasized that the office of the President warrants appropriate dignity, irrespective of political disagreements. Keyamo further suggested that Atiku’s remarks appeared to stem from personal grievance, noting that the tone of his address “reeks of pain and bitterness in his heart.” The Minister also highlighted a perceived contradiction, recalling Atiku’s previous claim that President Tinubu was older than him, yet he proceeded to address an ‘elder’ by his first name.

Concurrently, Sunday Dare echoed similar sentiments, accusing Atiku Abubakar of stripping the President of his official status and displaying profound insolence. Dare articulated that Atiku's method of address was a “clear descent into the abyss of unbridled desperation and an unravelling mind.” He sharply rebuked Atiku’s attempt to “lecture a sitting president with the unbridled insolence of dropping his first name, petulantly barking instructions, and dictating how governance should be run.”

The criticisms also extended to Atiku's policy proposals made at the same press conference. Atiku had urged President Tinubu to adopt his suggestion for government intervention to reduce the price of petrol, indicating that the President could even rename the initiative and claim credit if it would alleviate the burden on Nigerians. He cautioned against relying solely on palliatives to address the escalating cost of living. However, Sunday Dare dismissed Atiku’s appeal, stating that “Nigerians do not need lectures on fiscal management from a political wanderer whose decades-long pursuit of the presidency has been defined by perpetual opportunism.” Dare contended that President Tinubu is undertaking crucial foundational work to restore an economy plagued by structural inertia and subsidy hemorrhaging. He concluded that Atiku’s “sudden conversion to the gospel of interventionism rings hollow,” describing it as a “desperate strategy by a perennial seeker of power who weaponizes transient national discomforts for electoral mileage.”