Raila comes out clear on reports of division within Azimio on NADCO report
Leader of the Azimio la Umoja Coalition Party, Raila Odinga, has denied allegations of internal conflicts within his group concerning the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.
In a Wednesday interview with Citizen TV, he underscored the acceptance of diverse viewpoints among allies within the coalition, underscoring the significance of the right to express one’s opinions.
Odinga affirmed that, under the guidance of Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, the coalition has made substantial advancements in the ongoing discussions.
Specifically, they have effectively tackled key issues that were brought up, demonstrating the efficacy of their collaborative endeavors.
“Those other members of Azimio who are talking are just addressing what we all agreed on about the issue of cost of living,” Raila said on Wednesday.
“What they may not know is that there was agreement on fundamental issues that we had raised as Azimio,” he added.
In November, Eugene Wamalwa, a former Cabinet Secretary and member of the National Dialogue Committee, along with Martha Karua, a co-principal of Azimio, distanced themselves from the committee’s report, specifically citing concerns about the cost of living.
Wamalwa, who previously served as the Defence Cabinet Secretary, declared on a Sunday that he would not endorse the report or request a sitting allowance, underscoring his refusal to associate with the findings.
“I didn’t and will not append my signature to the NADCO report and have not and will not accept any sitting allowance for the same because I believe we did not do justice to the single most important issue to Kenyans; the cost of living,” Wamalwa said while speaking at a church service in Busia County.
Karua expressed her disagreement with the report through her X handle.
“Any purported agreement that does not immediately impact on the cost of living, electoral justice and respect for multiparty democracy is a fraud on the people and must be rejected,” she said.
The absence of the two leaders was noticeable during Azimio’s press statement at the SKM Command Centre, where Raila conveyed the coalition’s stance on the bipartisan report. Raila disclosed that the primary point of contention in the report centers on the rising cost of living, with his team emphasizing that this issue falls squarely within the responsibility of the Kenya Kwanza government.
“Where there was no agreement on the cost of living, and our team insisted that it be recorded, they said it was the work of the government to reduce the cost of living and not the opposition,” he said.
“Our team said in the report that they disagreed with the Kenya Kwanza team on the cost of living, because the Kenya Kwanza team said they would do it in their own style at their own pace,” Raila added.
The leader of Azimio clarified that despite the disagreement over the cost of living, the Azimio team opted to proceed with the negotiations. This choice was motivated by the headway they had achieved on other crucial matters they had brought to the table.
One of the issues raised by Azimio during the talks was the call for an audit of the 2022 Presidential election.
“We said, fine, us we will continue to press you to reduce the cost of living, our position was should we walk out because of the disagreement?” Raila said.
“We thought that we had achieved some considerable progress in the other issues and said we proceed with the report, but still press the government to reduce the cost of living,’ he added.
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Raila comes out clear on reports of division within Azimio on NADCO report
