The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for repeatedly referring to the President simply as “Bola.”
Dare described the reference as “the height of insolence” in a statement issued on Saturday, following the former vice-president’s press conference in Abuja on Friday.
Atiku had urged the Tinubu administration to consider government intervention to reduce the price of petrol, saying the President could rename the proposal and take credit for it if doing so would ease the financial burden on Nigerians.
“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,” Atiku said.
He added that the President could adopt and rename the proposal if necessary, stressing that his priority was for Nigerians to pay less for petrol.
Reacting, Dare argued that Atiku’s reference to the President by his first name while also prescribing how the government should operate amounted to political hubris.
He accused the former vice-president of displaying what he described as “political hubris” and criticised the tone of his comments about the administration’s economic policies.
Dare also defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, saying the administration was undertaking measures aimed at restructuring the Nigerian economy following years of what he described as structural challenges and subsidy-related financial pressures.
The presidential aide further questioned Atiku’s proposal for government intervention in petrol pricing, characterising it as a political strategy. Dare said the proposal was aimed at gaining electoral advantage from the economic difficulties facing Nigerians.
Dare’s comments came a day after Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo also criticised Atiku for referring to Tinubu as “Bola.” Keyamo described the reference as “very disrespectful and discourteous” and said the office of the President should be accorded dignity regardless of political differences.
Atiku is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, while Tinubu is the incumbent President and the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 election, according to the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Their camps have continued to exchange criticisms over economic policy and other political issues as political activity intensifies ahead of the 2027 election.
