Tinubu aides condemn Atiku for addressing president by first name

Senior members of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration have publicly rebuked former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his manner of addressing the sitting president. During a media briefing in Abuja on Friday, Atiku referred to Tinubu by his first name while discussing fuel price policy, triggering swift responses from two top government figures.

Sunday Dare, the President's Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, issued a statement on Saturday characterizing Atiku's form of address as the "height of insolence." Dare defended the administration's economic policies against Atiku's suggestion that government should intervene to lower petrol prices. Atiku had proposed that Tinubu could adopt his recommendation and rebrand it for political benefit if doing so would ease Nigerians' financial hardship.

Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, leveled similar criticism on his X social media account on Friday, describing Atiku's repeated use of the first name as "disrespectful and discourteous." Keyamo argued that the office of the President demands dignity regardless of political disagreement between leaders. He suggested that Atiku should have shown greater deference to the institution, even while opposing the administration's policies.

Atiku, who ran unsuccessfully as the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has maintained an active public commentary on government operations since his defeat. The controversy reflects ongoing tension between the administration and its political opponents over both substantive policy matters and the protocols governing how officials address one another in public discourse.