The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has condemned former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar for repeatedly calling President Bola Tinubu “Bola” during a press conference on Friday.
Keyamo, in a statement on his X on Friday, described Atiku’s reference to the President by his first name as “very disrespectful and discourteous,” saying the office of the President should be accorded dignity irrespective of political differences.
“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 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.”
Keyamo further charged Atiku with speaking out of personal resentment, remarking, “The tone reeks of pain and bitterness in his heart.”
The minister went on to cite Atiku’s recent remark about their ages, contending that it made no sense for him to call Tinubu older than himself while at the same time referring to him 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.
Atiku had previously called on Tinubu to embrace his proposal for government intervention to bring down petrol prices, noting that the president could rebrand the idea and claim credit for it if it would ease the burden on Nigerians.
Atiku made these comments during a press conference in Abuja on Friday, where he also urged steps to lower the cost of petrol and cautioned against depending on palliatives to tackle the rising cost of living.
“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 should just take the idea, rename it if he wishes, and even take the credit. What matters to me is that Nigerians pay less,” he said.
