Vice-President Kashim Shettima has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar for repeatedly referring to President Bola Tinubu by his first name, insisting that Tinubu remains Nigeria’s president and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces regardless of how his political opponents address him.
Shettima made the remarks on Wednesday during the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he also took aim at Atiku’s repeated attempts to become president and criticised the economic proposals of Peter Obi.
The vice-president said political disputes should not make anyone overlook the office Tinubu currently occupies.
“Those who come to equity must come with clean hands. You can call him Bola. If you like, you can call him Adekunle. But the truth is that he is the president and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Shettima said.
He also compared Atiku’s repeated presidential ambitions to those of former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who contested Kenya’s presidency several times without securing the position.
Shettima argued that Atiku could not be compared with former United States President Abraham Lincoln, who is widely remembered for his role in ending slavery and served from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.
Despite his criticism, the vice-president said he would continue to address Atiku respectfully because of the former vice-president’s previous position in government.
“Atiku Abubakar, I will still respect him and call him a former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
“I will not follow suit with Lawal and call him Kachalla. No. But believe me, Atiku Abubakar, who has contested for the presidency of this country for the eighth time, is no Abraham Lincoln. He is more of Odinga Odinga.”
Shettima maintained that the pursuit of political office should be accompanied by character, discipline and a clear understanding of the responsibilities that come with leadership.
He also directed criticism at Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, questioning his economic proposals and his claims concerning the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.
According to Shettima, Nigeria’s population, economic structure and national circumstances require policies designed around its realities rather than solutions copied directly from other countries.
“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities,” he said.
The vice-president further argued that policies that succeed in Bangladesh cannot automatically be applied in Nigeria without considering differences in population, economic conditions, institutions and other national factors.
Although he said he respected Obi, Shettima accused the former Anambra State governor of making claims about winning the 2023 presidential election without providing evidence to support them.
“I respect Peter Obi. But he has gone beyond his mastery of philosophy to make august claim about winning the 2023 presidential election without adducing a shred of evidence to buttress his assertion,” Shettima said.
He described Obi as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions”, using an analogy to argue that a solution designed for a smaller country might not fit Nigeria’s much larger population and more complex circumstances.
Despite his sharp criticism of the opposition figures, Shettima urged APC campaign council members to maintain respect for their political rivals throughout the campaign.
He said opponents should be treated as fellow citizens rather than enemies and encouraged the party’s campaigners to focus on policies and ideas instead of personal attacks.
“For the rest of the duration of this campaign, we’ll discuss ideas, we’ll discuss policies, but we’ll treat all our opponents with respect and dignity. They are not our enemies. They are our brothers. They are our countrymen. They are our leaders,” he said.
Shettima also warned APC supporters against being drawn into exchanges of insults, urging them to respond to criticism with facts, statistics and logical arguments.
“We have the capacity to respond to all sorts of innuendos and outright lies that our political opponents are taking on. But we won’t fall into their traps. We’ll give them facts,” he said.
“We’ll give them statistics. We argue with reason, not with sentiments, not with exaggerated truth or fabricated lies.”
The vice-president further defended Tinubu’s bid for a second term, arguing that the administration’s reform programme had gathered momentum that Nigeria could not afford to lose.
He urged members of the presidential campaign council to take the government’s message to communities across the country, engage voters directly and explain the administration’s policies and achievements ahead of the 2027 general election.
