Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o has ditched Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga and settled on pharmacist Mathew Owili as his running mate for Kisumu gubernatorial position in the coming August 8 General election.
Nyong’o is the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party nominee and will square it with incumbent governor Jack Ranguma in the elections.
It was widely expected that the Kisumu Senator will retain Ruth who has served as Ranguma’s number two and had even dropped her bid to contest for governorship in the just concluded ODM primaries.
Making the announcement yesterday in a Nairobi hotel, Nyong’o eluded confidence in unseating Ranguma and be the second Kisumu Governor.
“Let me introduce to you a man I will work closely to realise the development aspirations of the people of Kisumu, together with the people themselves,” announced Nyong’o.
“Dr. Mathew OChieng’ Owili will be my running mate and nominee for the position of Deputy Governor on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party ticket, Kisumu County,” he added.
Nyong’o described Owili as a ‘a youthful dedicated servant of the people, a distinguished professional and a man of impeccable character and unquestionable integrity’.
He defended the decision to unveil his running mate in Nairobi instead of Kisumu as a deliberate move to quell speculations and anxiety among his supporters.
“We will do it in Kisumu too. We wanted to allay the anxiety because people are calling up to midnight over the issue,” he added.
