Africa-Press – Kenya. Azimio la Umoja Coalition Party leader Raila Odinga has refuted claims of discord within his camp regarding the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report.
During an interview with Citizen TV on Wednesday, he emphasized that diverse opinions among allies are welcomed within the coalition, highlighting the importance of freedom of expression.
Odinga asserted that the coalition front, under the leadership of Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, has achieved substantial progress in the ongoing discussions.
Specifically, they have addressed key issues that were raised, demonstrating the effectiveness of their collaborative efforts.
“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, former CS and member of the National Dialogue Committee Eugene Wamalwa and Azimio co-principal Martha karua distanced themselves from the team’s report over the cost of living issue.
The former Defence Cabinet Secretary said on Sunday he will not append his signature to the report nor seek a sitting allowance
“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 also voiced her dissent on the report via 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 two leaders were conspicuously missing during Azimio’s press statement at the SKM Command Centre at which Raila gave the position of the coalition on the bipartisan report.
Revealing details, Raila said the sole point of disagreement in the report revolves around the escalating cost of living, with his team emphasizing that it is squarely within the purview 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 Azimio leader explained that despite the disagreement regarding the cost of living, the Azimio team decided to continue with the negotiations. This decision was influenced by the progress they had made on other key issues they had raised.
Among the issues tabled by Azimio for the talks was an audit of the 2022 Presidential.
“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.
For More News And Analysis About Kenya Follow Africa-Press
