(Shettima And Atiku. Photo by premuim Times)
Vice President Kashim Shettima has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying anyone seeking the presidency must show discipline and respect for public institutions.
He spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja.
He said Atiku’s repeated presidential bids and recent policy proposals do not excuse what he called disrespectful language about President Tinubu.
“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,” Shettima said.
He said he would keep calling Atiku his former vice president, and that he would not follow Babachir Lawal in calling him “Kachalla.”
He also said Atiku, who has run for president eight times, “is no Abraham Lincoln” and is “more of Oginga Odinga.”
Shettima argued that the presidency is not an ordinary prize and that candidates must show the qualities they would expect from leaders of more than 200 million Nigerians.
He said the higher the office, the greater the discipline expected in a candidate’s words and conduct.
He also questioned Atiku’s proposal for production subsidies.
“Who pays? Who benefits? And which competing priorities must surrender their funding? A change in ideological wardrobe cannot balance a national budget,” he said.
You can call him Bola. If you like, you can call him Adekunle. But the truth is, he is the President of Nigeria. I will respect Atiku and call him former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. I will not follow suit with the maverick Babachir Lawal to call him Kachalla. Atiku, who has contested the presidency for the 8th time, is no Abraham Lincoln. He’s more of Odinga Odinga. – Vice President Kashim Shettima blasts ADC presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar at the APC Presidential Campaign Council inauguration holding at the presidential villa
— Nigerian Affairs Journal (@NigAffairs) October 14, 2026