Leaders in the ODM party have caused a storm in the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance coalition party after rejecting Polycarp Igathe’s Nairobi gubernatorial candidature.
Speaking on Wednesday in a press briefing, the leaders demanded that ODM candidate Tim Wanyonyi be given a fair chance in the race.
In a statement read out by Former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia, the leaders said that they will not allow the Luhya nation to be looked down upon.
“Luhyas we are number two in Nairobi and we have to be respected. The Governor position is our irreducible minimum,” the Westlands MP aspirant said.
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ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna, however, said that the problem was not in ODM but within other partners in Azimio. He said the party would firmly stand behind Wanyonyi.
"Wanyonyi was the only gubernatorial candidate for ODM. The issue is not with ODM but with our other partners within Azimio,” Sifuna said.
The leaders demanded that the Luhya community be given the Nairobi gubernatorial seat and senatorial seat, which Sifuna is eyeing.
"Tim Wanyonyi is the only candidate wa ODM. Our share as the Luhya community is Governor Tim Wanyonyi. Rais imeenda, deputy itaenda, hata wakitaka kuchukua hizo zingine wachukue, lakini ya Governor wasiguze," said Makadara MP George Aladwa.
They further demanded five MP seats in Nairobi including Dagoretti North, Lang’ata, Westslands, Embakasi West, Makadara and a further 24 seats in the county assembly.
The leaders also demanded five Cabinet slots that included the Ministry of Finance, Health, Roads and Transport, Water and Environment.
