The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has condemned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his decision to address President Bola Tinubu by his first name, describing the action as disrespectful to the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief.
The council, however, urged APC leaders, spokespersons, members and support groups not to respond to Atiku in kind, insisting that the ruling party would maintain decorum and focus on issues of national importance ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), came under criticism from the APC-PCC for what it described as his “self-imposed indiscretion and disrespect” towards the office of the President.
In a statement on Monday signed by its spokesperson, Dele Alake, the council said a former Vice President and an aspirant to the nation’s highest office should demonstrate a higher standard of conduct in public engagements.
“While a higher standard of decorum, decency and deference to constituted authorities is expected from a former Vice President of Nigeria and an aspirant to the highest office in the country, we are concerned that the ADC Presidential candidate has not lived up to those expectations by his unbecoming decision to address the President of Nigeria on a first-name basis as ‘Bola’,” the statement said.
The APC-PCC accused Atiku of allowing political differences and his ambition to return to the presidency to undermine the statesmanship expected of a former occupant of the nation’s second-highest political office.
“Since Alhaji Atiku lost the last Presidential election, he has allowed political animosity and uncontrollable ambition to rob him of the statesmanship that should guide his public conduct and utterances,” the council stated.
It further accused the former Vice President of setting a poor example for younger politicians, arguing that his approach to political engagement fell short of the standards expected of an experienced political leader.
“Alhaji Atiku, for reasons best known to him alone, chose, rather than being a good example of decency in political behaviour, to set himself up as a model of politician the younger generation of political actors should never aspire to be like,” the statement added.
Despite its strong criticism of Atiku’s conduct, the ruling party’s campaign council urged its members and supporters to uphold civility and show the former Vice President the courtesies associated with his former position and current status as a presidential candidate.
“Without any regard to his personal choice to disrespect the office he is aspiring to occupy, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has implored all party leaders, spokespersons, party members and support groups to accord all the respect, courtesies and regard due to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as former Vice President of Nigeria and a Presidential candidate,” it said.
The council said the APC would not adopt the approach it attributed to the ADC presidential candidate, stressing that its political engagement would remain guided by its professed progressive ideals and traditional values.
“Our campaign will focus on issues important to Nigerians. We will sell our party programmes, President Bola Tinubu’s achievements in office, and how the administration is moving Nigeria from reforms to prosperity as the President seeks a second-term mandate from Nigerians,” the council stated.
The position signals the APC-PCC’s intention to centre its re-election campaign on the Tinubu administration’s policies, programmes and claimed achievements, while discouraging its members from engaging in retaliatory exchanges with opposition figures.
 has condemned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his decision to address President Bola Tinubu by his first name, describing the action as disrespectful to the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief.){kind=link}