Nairobi Senator and ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna has called for the resignation of the ODM Party members nominated by President William Ruto to occupy various positions in cabinet.
Speaking during a panel on Citizen TV on Thursday, July 25, 2024, Sifuna called for the resignation of ODM Deputy Party leaders Wycliffe Oparanya and Hassan Joho, ODM chairman John Mbadi, and National Assembly Minority Leader – Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.
“I expect that before they go for vetting I will receive resignation from their positions in the party. That is my expectation because the law is that they cannot go into cabinet as parties and members of political parties,” he said.
“Did we know that people were negotiating with Ruto, yes we knew. Was it something being done officially through the party structures, no. Did we endorse the decision by these four individuals to join the government, no. It is not a decision of ODM.”
Sifuna reiterated that the move to join Ruto’s cabinet was an individual decision by the members and not that of the party.
The ODM Secretary-General stated that should party leader Raila Odinga have presented a list of names to President Ruto, the former premier would have considered gender parity in the nominations.
“Even the president himself never said he consulted Raila. He never said he consulted ODM he just said the names of the people he has appointed and it is his prerogative as the president,” noted Sifuna.
“If Raila Odinga was asked to present names of people who are capable of turning around this country and addressing the issues that have been raised by Gen Z, the Raila I know will not present four names of all men. There is no way Raila presents four names, two from one region in a party as diverse as ODM.”
Sifuna maintained that as SG of the ODM Party, he speaks for the party and has never contradicted himself on the stance of the party, reiterating that the decision by the four ranking party members to join the government is solely based on personal interest.
Speaking on the same panel, Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda, also a member of the ODM party, opined that the four would not have accepted the cabinet nominations without the blessings of party leader Raila Odinga.
