Senator Edwin Sifuna stated that the ODM Cabinet Secretary nominees do not have the party’s endorsement

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna announced that the party did not approve the nomination of four of its members to the Cabinet. On Thursday, Sifuna clarified that the appointments of ODM Chairman John Mbadi, Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi, and Deputy Party leaders Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya were personal decisions. Joho was appointed as Minister of Mining and Blue Economy, Oparanya as Minister for Cooperatives and MSME Development, Mbadi as Minister for National Treasury, and Wandayi as Minister for Energy and Petroleum.

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Sifuna emphasized that these decisions were not negotiated by the party and that the four members acted independently in their discussions with President William Ruto. He stressed that this move does not represent the party’s stance, stating, “They do not have the blessings of the party. The position we gave is that they are joining the government in their individual capacity. We don’t begrudge them; in fact, I wish them well.”

Sifuna expressed skepticism about Mbadi’s understanding of the government’s bottom-up transformative manifesto, questioning whether Mbadi could effectively reduce taxes as the Treasury Cabinet Secretary. He also pointed out that the party had not held any meetings to discuss the nominations, highlighting the need for a conversation to establish the party’s priorities.

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Sifuna confirmed that while ODM was aware that Mbadi, Joho, Oparanya, and Wandayi were negotiating with President Ruto, the party did not endorse these negotiations. These leaders, allied with Azimio leader Raila Odinga, were nominated by President Ruto to various Cabinet positions, aligning with Ruto’s aim to form a government of national unity. Ruto had indicated that he sought broad-based consultations to create a government capable of addressing debt, job creation, and corruption while promoting efficiency and reducing costs.