‘Bola is his name, President is his office’ — Paul Ibe defends Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the ADC, defended his choice to refer to President Bola Tinubu as ‘Bola’ during his Independence Day speech. His spokesperson, Paul Ibe, stated that no Nigerian law prohibits addressing the president by his first name and cited constitutional provisions supporting freedom of expression. He challenged critics to identify any law requiring Nigerians to use formal titles like ‘President’ or ‘His Excellency’ and emphasized that the focus should be on the issues raised in the speech rather than the form of address.