ODM party leader Oburu Oginga in Bondo on Sunday. Faith Matete ODM party leader Oburu Oginga and President William Ruto in Bondo on Sunday. Faith Matete
ODM party leaders Oburu Oginga has dismissed claims that cooperation between the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the government was set to end on March 7.
Instead, Oburu says the date was only meant to mark the anniversary of the broad-based arrangement.
Speaking in Bondo on Sunday, Oburu clarified that the date had been widely misunderstood, noting that it was simply set to present an interim report on the implementation of the 10-point agenda agreed upon between the party and President William Ruto’s administration.
“Some people were saying the 10-point agenda was coming to an end on March 7. I want to tell my people that the 7th was chosen deliberately because it was the anniversary of the broad-based government,” he said.
He explained that the date was never intended to signal the collapse of the cooperation between the two political formations.
“It was not that the world was coming to an end on the 7th or that ODM and UDA were divorcing. The seventh was just meant to give an interim report on the 10-point agenda,” he added.
Oburu said the party leadership had already reviewed the report together with the President and noted that progress had been made in implementing several of the agreed-upon reforms.
“We have gone through the report with the President and there is a lot of progress that has been made,” he said.
The ODM party leader challenged critics who have claimed that nothing has been achieved under the agreement.
“Some people are saying there is zero performance in the 10-point agenda, but they don’t take time to go through the details to see what has been implemented and what has not,” he said.
He maintained that the party remains committed to the arrangement initiated by ODM leader Raila Odinga, noting that the cooperation was aimed at addressing key national issues.
Oburu added that the party will continue engaging the government to ensure the agenda benefits Kenyans.
“We are moving on and we are not about to give up,” he said.