Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has hit back at Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi over claims touching on his past drug consumption.
In an interview on Sunday, February 22, the Embakasi East MP addressed the allegations about his past, maintaining that he had long stopped using drugs and alcohol.
“I used to consume bhang, drugs and alcohol, but I stopped their consumption. 17th January 2020, it has been 6 years since I touched bhang, drugs, alcohol, 6 years, and I just drink water; it is in the public domain,” he said.
Babu then turned his attention to the CS’s performance at the National Treasury, accusing him of shifting focus from key national issues.
“John Mbadi should focus on building the nation; he should focus on working at the Treasury. Focusing on Babu taking bhang while he is focusing on selling Safaricom, there are pending bills he should be focusing on,” he added.
Babu further took issue with what he termed as misplaced priorities, citing leadership rankings and government expenditure.
“He is lucky he has choppers; he is moving around and fueling them. About this ranking of Luo leaders, I was proclaimed by the people. I was ranked at 58% and Mbadi at 2%, that is what is disturbing him, Mbadi boy,” he further said.
Elsewhere, Babu has sent mixed signals about his political future even as he declared interest in the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.
In an interview on Sunday, February 22, the MP suggested that his loyalty lies primarily with the electorate rather than any political outfit.
However, in the same breath, Babu declared his ambition to lead the ODM Party, sending mixed signals about his immediate plans within the party.
“My party is the people. We have seen people being elected even without parties. The first loyalty that I have is to the people. Once you are loyal and you work for the people, you don’t need a party. I will communicate about that. For now, we must be the ODM party leader. I must be the ODM party leader. I know that I deserve it and I am capable,” he said.
At the same time, Babu made it clear that his ultimate target is City Hall, expressing confidence that he will succeed Johnson Sakaja as Nairobi Governor.
He criticised the current county leadership and its working relationship with the national government.
“I will be the next governor of Nairobi County. Sakaja handed over his responsibilities to the president. He was simply saying that he is tired, he can’t do this work, help me. An incompetent national government comes in to help an incompetent county government.
“The governor became a different governor who cannot deliver services. They are saying Nairobi has technical issues, there is nothing technical about Nairobi,” he added.
Babu also drew a sharp contrast between his leadership style and that of Sakaja, pointing to his track record as Embakasi East MP.
“The difference between Sakaja and Babu Owino is that you are looking at a basket of knowledge. The difference is like the ground and the sky. Babu is a performer. Babu has performed at Embakasi East and Babu was ranked as the best MP in terms of performance rating for two consecutive years,” he continued.
Babu further framed his gubernatorial bid as a mission driven by service delivery rather than privilege.
“It shows you clearly that Babu can deliver and has always delivered from the university. We are going there not about beauty but duty. Babu came to Nairobi by bus, and Sakaja came to Nairobi by birth. I want to leave Nairobi a better place for those who came by birth,” he further said.
