The rift in Raila Odinga’s ODM appears to be getting deeper day by day after officials locked horns over party decisions.
After a push and pull over the BBI bill experienced in the past two weeks, the party’s deputy and secretary general are embroiled in another war.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna have disagreed over conducting grassroots polls to elect representatives.
Speaking in Vihiga over the weekend, Oparanya said that ODM’s National Executive Committee had decided to postpone the polls until after the 2022 General Election.
“The ODM National Steering Committee met recently and decided to postpone the party grass-roots and national elections until later next year so that we can divert all our arsenal in strengthening and popularizing the party as we pre-pare for the General Election,” Oparanya said.
He said grassroots elections would cause divisions in the party and this would further weaken it before the main task ahead of them.
“We will not have time for damage control in the event of fallouts arising from the outcome of the polls because the general election is around the corner,
“The party cannot risk going to the next general election a divided house. Holding elections this year could destroy the party,” Oparanya, who is also the party deputy party leader said.
However, Edwin Sifuna said that the ODM NEC had not had a meeting on the subject nor arrived at such a conclusion.
According to Sifuna, Oparanya was not in a position to communicate on such matters, and those were just his personal views.
The two clashed amid previous reports that ODM is a divided house due to the BBI bill and gubernatorial positions contested between members.
This division resulted to the ouster of Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo from the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC).
Siaya Senator James Orengo was also earmarked for expulsion from minority leader position but ODM later on decided to hold its horses.
However, Oparanya has dismissed reports of division in the house saying the party was still strong and steady enough to tackle the oncoming General Election.
