Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his refusal to address President Bola Tinubu by his official title in his October 1 Independence Day address.

Fani-Kayode said he was tempted to refer to Atiku as “Kachalla” in response to the former vice president’s repeated reference to Tinubu simply as “Bola.”

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, Fani-Kayode described Atiku’s address as “intellectually-flawed, highly disrespectful, inherently dishonest and utterly bereft of decency and logic.”

He said: “Worse still you refused to address @officialABAT as ‘President’ but rather continuously and contemptuously referred to him by his first name ‘Bola’.

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

Fani-Kayode also cited former Special Adviser on Political Affairs to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Akin Osuntokun, who had criticised Atiku for repeatedly referring to Tinubu by his first name.

According to Fani-Kayode, Osuntokun argued that while Atiku was entitled to criticise Tinubu, repeatedly addressing the President as “Bola” was disrespectful and lacked decorum.

Fani-Kayode said he agreed with Osuntokun but claimed Atiku’s conduct was consistent with his past disagreements with political leaders.

He accused Atiku of falling out with Obasanjo after they assumed office in 1999 and of later opposing the former president ahead of the 2003 election. He also criticised Atiku over his past comments about Obasanjo and former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The former Minister of Aviation further accused Atiku of criticising Vice President Kashim Shettima after Shettima challenged him to account for his time in office and contributions to Nigerians.

Fani-Kayode also referenced Atiku’s response to Shettima in which the former vice president reportedly invoked northern culture, questioning whether Atiku’s conduct reflected the values he associated with the region.

He further raised the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto State, alleging that Atiku initially posted a condolence message after the incident but later deleted it and denied doing so.

Fani-Kayode ultimately accused Atiku of being driven by what he described as an “inordinate ambition” and a “pathological obsession” with power.