Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s media aide, Paul Ibe, has hit back at former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, over his criticism of his principal for referring to President Bola Tinubu as “Bola” in his October 1 Independence Day address.

Fani-Kayode, in a post on his Facebook page on Sunday, accused Atiku of disrespecting the office of the President.

He wrote: “Surely this level of pettiness is below even you. Yet, despite this provocation, I will not refer to you as ‘Kachalla’, and I will accord you the respect that I still think you deserve.”

In response, Ibe, in a statement shared on his social media platforms, wrote:

“His name is Bola. And that is not Nigeria’s problem.

“Nigeria is a republic, not a monarchy. The President is an elected public servant, not an emperor before whom opponents must genuflect.

“You lecture Atiku about ‘decency’, ‘decorum’ and ‘restraint’, yet your essay calls people ‘pit bull terriers’, ‘hungry wolves’, ‘fallen angels’ and sufferers of ‘pathological obsession’.

“On the claim that Obasanjo knelt before Atiku, Atiku has denied it, while others have offered a different account. It remains disputed history. You may choose your version, but you cannot manufacture certainty.

“Those are the questions that matter.

“It is easier to debate ‘Bola’ versus ‘Mr President’ than to defend what Bola’s policies have done to Nigerians.

“In 2027, Nigerians will vote on food, petrol, electricity, jobs, insecurity, the naira and their quality of life — not forms of address.”