Tinubu’s portrait seems to be the first issue the president would face for real in the eastern part of Nigeria. Of course, his campaign suffered from sheer disparaging comments, snubs, hate in the region. Electioneering period is over. Yet the hate is yet to abate.
Even though he came a distant third in the race, Mr. Peter Obi was the fiercest opponent of Tinubu. His vicious and ubiquitous followers took on anyone who decided to follow the path of Bola Tinubu notably. The same momentum is being maintained in Abia state now.
Mr. Alex Otti, the only Labour Party Governor in the federation has refused to hang Bola Tinubu’s portrait in his office. There is no law that says the president’s picture should be hung in the offices. But it’s a convention which shows the national acceptability and allegiance to the president. The issue has raised arguments and rekindled the division along religion and ethnic lines.
The media aide of Governor Otti has reacted, he said
“We don’t have the governor’s portraits in most offices because this is a new government. We have placed some pictures and ordered for more. It has nothing to do with politics.
“The day the governor met with permanent secretaries we still had the former Governor Ikpeazu’s portrait in the banquet hall. It is criminal to say that the person who was duly sworn in as president will not be recognised. It doesn’t make sense; and we don’t think it is in that direction.”
The response isn’t the problem. The issue is that Mr. Peter Obi is linked to the matter. The same Governor Otti announced after his victory that the presidential candidate has no stake in his emergence as the Abia state governor.
He boasted that he was in the Labour Party much earlier than the ex Anambra State governor Obi. That alone should be enough to prove that Otti is not under the influence of the Labour Party struggle for national power. He basically nurses his own hatred for the president.
There are other governors elected on platforms other than the All Progressives Congress. They have all hung Bola Tinubu’s portrait in their respective offices. Why would the Abia state governor be an exception. There is actually a nexus between Alex Otti and Peter Obi: they both have a common political foe. However, they don’t belong to the same camp and don’t share similar goals.
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