Businessman and ODM presidential candidate Jimi Wanjigi has dismissed the possibility of his party leader Raila Odinga ascending to power in the August general elections.

Speaking in Homa Bay where he was coronated as a Luo elder, Wanjigi said that he believes that the time is ripe for ODM to clinch power but he does not see Raila leading the party in that direction.

Wanjigi argued that he does not see Raila clinching power because he lacks the support he enjoyed when he ran for the presidency under the NASA coalition. He claimed that the former Prime Minister has not only lost NASA principals but also most of his supporters since the 2017 general elections.

“The biggest problem I have with my party leader (Raila) is that I do not see his path to power and I believe that this is the time ODM should get to power,” Wanjigi said

Wanjigi further claimed that Raila cannot get enough votes from Mt Kenya to ascend to power. He argued that the region still view the ODM boss as an enemy due to the base public relations that were put against him by his opponents in the region.

“For Raila to climb Mt Kenya is a tall order. In two election cycles, he has been an enemy. In the last elections, I was here (Nyanza region) and I am not an enemy. The person (President Uhuru Kenyatta) trying to help him lift him the mountain in the head of Jubilee, and the head of Jubilee cannot even pull a large crowd here in Nyanza,” he said.

“In 2017 when we formed NASA we had partnerships with Kalonzo Musyoka, Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and a greater number of Kenyans and we won that election and it was shown by the Supreme Court,” he added.

The businessman-turned-politician further noted that Raila cannot clinch the presidency even if those close to him opt to rig elections in his favour.

He said that rigging an election is not an option for the ODM boss noting that all the loopholes that were previously available for rigging have been sealed.

Wanjigi, who further pointed out that he is the best person to fly the ODM flag in the coming elections, said that he also does not believe in the Azimio la Umoja movement that Raila is championing. According to him, the movement is meant to kill his party, ODM and resurrect “the dead Jubilee Party”.

“The tragedy of Azimio is that it is blue and red, I don’t see the Orange… It seems to me that Azimio is watering down Orange and giving Jubilee new life,” he said.