Amani National Congress (ANC) deputy party leader Ayub Savula has asked ODM party to brace itself well and be ready for a tough battle a head of the November 7th Kibra by-election.
Speaking at Itumbu primary school in his Lugari constituency, Savula said there should be no jittery by the move by ANC to field a candidate in Kibra appealing to the ODM supporters to accept competition from their NASA partners.
He said the parties under the NASA coalition were partners only in national politics but can compete internally at the constituency level and the move should not be seen as ANC fighting ODM or NASA leader Raila Odinga.
He also appealed to Wiper to throw their support behind ANC candidate Eliud Owalo as a show of good faith because ANC supported Julius Mawathe of Wiper party during the Embakasi south by-election held in April.
“Wiper and ODM fielded candidates in Embakasi during the by-election, we fought it out as brothers and wiper managed to get the seat. There should be no jitters in Kibra that ANC is fighting ODM, we are just competing for a parliamentary seat,” he said, adding that ANC intends to have a foothold and an MP in Nairobi, “We are pleading with our brothers in Wiper led by Kalonzo Musyoka to support ANC candidate because we supported Wiper candidate in Embakasi,” said Savula.
The MP is optimistic that ANC candidate Eliud Owalo has the chance to emerge victorious. Moreover, Savula has played off allegations by some MPs from central region that the ANC party was being funded by the office of the president.
He said ANC was a democratic party that stood with principles of being in opposition to check on the excesses in government. “We cannot be an opposition that has been infiltrated by the government. My party leader Musalia Mudavadi stands for the principle of the opposition in the terms of checking on the excesses in the government and has no business being funded by the office the president to carry out his political activities,” he said.