The Daggers in Governor Alex Otti’s Smile … Why He Refused to Hang President Tinubu’s Portrait in His Office

The distance that one can travel in politics often depends on one’s breadth of mind. The broader the mind, the further the achievements. This is something that individuals like President Bola Tinubu recognise and use whenever necessary. However, there is still speculation as to whether Abia State governor, Alex Otti, holds the same view.

The news made the rounds recently regarding the interior design of some of the offices at the Abia Government House. Allegedly, these officers did not have the portrait of the president as they had been removed prior to the date the rumours swirled. Given that this is not the normal procedure, speculations arose regarding Otti’s reception of Tinubu’s presidency.

The bite of these speculations is that Otti is not at all interested in serving under Tinubu and would rather have somebody else as president. Seeing as Tinubu is of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Otti came into gubernatorial might under Labour Party (LP), his rumoured preference for the handler of the presidential mantle is obvious.

The issue was further compounded by the fact that Otti’s office was included in the offices without Tinubu’s presidential portrait. Thus, critics argued that he could supply no valid excuse for subtly indicating that he does not accept Tinubu.

However, Otti rebuffed the allegations. According to him, the only reason the portraits are missing in the identified offices is that there is a bit of renovation going on and not enough of the portraits to go around. However, they have requested for more to duly distribute to the offices, bringing an end to the matter.

But many people remain unconvinced. Moreover, it does not help that Otti is rumoured to have a rebellious streak and could turn against anybody at any time. But such rumours are unsubstantiated, and Otti’s people have even tagged them as the work of his rivals.