Former Vice‑President Atiku Abubakar has rejected criticisms from the presidency after he addressed President Bola Tinubu by his first name, saying the office is not “Tinubu’s ancestral stool” or a shrine.
Atiku’s comments came in a statement signed by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, in response to a rebuke from the presidency. President Tinubu’s media aide, Sunday Dare, had condemned Atiku’s choice to call the president “Bola,” describing it as insolent and desperate.
“When you cannot defend Bola Tinubu’s disastrous record, you abandon the suffering of Nigerians and manufacture outrage over Atiku calling your principal by his own first name,” the statement said, singling out Bayo Onanuga, Festus Keyamo and Sunday Dare. “Bola is his name.”
Atiku accused the presidency of focusing on personal attacks rather than addressing Nigerians’ hardships. “Nigerians elected a president, not an emperor. Public office does not confer divinity, and the Presidential Villa is not a royal court,” the statement read. He also cited rising petrol and food prices as reasons for speaking plainly to the president.
“The presidency is not a shrine. It is an office held in trust for the Nigerian people. Its occupant is answerable to citizens and open to scrutiny from every Nigerian, including the leading opposition figure in the country,” Atiku added. He said he does not need an appointment from Tinubu or permission from the ruling party to propose solutions.
