Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga on Thursday night held a political meeting with leaders drawn from the Nyanza region ahead of President William Ruto’s visit to Homa bay and Siaya.
In the meeting with politicians from the two counties in Nairobi, the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya leader advised his troops to welcome The Head of State for the sake of development in the regions.
“It was agreed that we travel and welcome the President,” Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo told Nation.
Former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, also the ODM deputy Party leader, said that although he did not attend the meeting, he was privy to the deliberations to welcome the President.
“The party leader met leaders from the counties which the president will be visiting today(Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) and gave them express permission to host him on his development tour of the area,” Oparanya said.
The meeting came days after Raila declared that Azimio governors were free to work with the government and should not be perceived as having defected from the opposition coalition.
“Working with National government does not mean that the governor is defecting to UDA or Kenya Kwisha. Governors ought to work with the national government,” Odinga said.
“When you see Abdulswamad go to StateHouse, it’s because he has been given the permission by the party to do so,” he stated.
Five Azimio governors who have pledged to support President William Ruto include Kakamega’s Fernandez Barasa, Vihiga’s Wilber Ottichilo, Kisii’s Simba Arati, Mombasa’s Abdulswamad Nassir and Trans Nzoia’s George Natembeya.
Odinga stated that with interrelated functions between the National government and the devolved units there was bound to be correlation between the President and the governors from either coalition.
“A governor attending the President’s meeting doesn’t mean that he has defected. I want the media to understand this and therefore that notion should stop immediately! Azimio is not splitting,” Odinga noted.
