Nigerian actress Lizzy Jay and entertainment personality Daddy Freeze have joined the conversation surrounding a UBA graduate trainee who addressed the bank’s chairman, Tony Elumelu, by his first name.
Lizzy Jay questioned the trainee’s decision to call the 63-year-old businessman “Tony” during the graduate trainee induction programme.
Reacting to a post about the incident, Lizzy Jay wrote: “where did you people buy your audacity from”. 
The actress joked that she would have taken a different approach if she were in the trainee’s position.
Lizzy Jay said she would have greeted Elumelu with “Good morning Daddy mi” before allowing him to correct her if he preferred another form of address.
She questioned how the trainee could address Elumelu simply as “Tony” despite his age and position.
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Daddy Freeze Reacts to the Incident
Daddy Freeze also criticised the way the trainee addressed Elumelu.
He said: “If Gen Z never embarrass you for this life I swer to God you have not been embarrassed yet, how would you look at 63 year Old Tony Elumelu and sat Tony.”
The entertainer said he felt embarrassed for the trainee’s parents over the incident.
Daddy Freeze added that even at 50, he would not address Elumelu simply as Tony because the businessman is 13 years older than him.
He also argued that Elumelu holds a senior position and is not his peer.
Daddy Freeze questioned how workplace culture had influenced some young people to overlook age and seniority when addressing older people.
READ ALSO: Who is UBA’s New Chairman? The Career and Achievements of Emmanuel Nnorom
X Users Share Different Views
The incident has also divided opinion among users on X.
X user @ogbeniAdugbo criticised the trainee and wrote: “ Some of these young ones are so uncouth! Mr Tony is even nice . He should have sent her oiut of that event! Mtchewww”
However, X user @-Ay-Mozart offered a different view of the situation.
The user wrote: “ As bad as it stands, if that’s a normal official gathering and their corporate culture is that everyone is addresses by their first name, she has no choice, in some places they frown at it against the culture and the C suite understand and are fully okay with it.”
During the induction programme, the graduate trainee took the microphone and addressed Elumelu as “Tony”.
Elumelu appeared taken aback by the way she addressed him and asked her to correct herself. However, when he gave her another opportunity to address him, she used “Tony” again.
A video of the exchange later circulated widely on social media.
During the interaction, Elumelu explained that he expected the trainee to address him respectfully. He also said he did not subscribe to what he described as “Oyinbo” culture.
The incident has since sparked a wider discussion about workplace etiquette, corporate culture and the way young employees should address senior executives in Nigeria.
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