Siaya gubernatorial candidate Nicholas Gumbo and his running-mate Charles Owino have maintained they are in the race despite a push by forces associated with ODM leader Raila Odinga to bow out.

The two who met Raila on Saturday say the Azimio-One Kenya presidential aspirant promised not to impose candidates on voters in his Nyanza backyard.

Raila is said to have assured all aspirants from affiliate parties of the Azimio-One Kenya coalition that he will not interfere in their respective campaigns in favour of individuals perceived to be his allies.

At a meeting with UDM governorship candidates Gumbo and  Owino, Raila is said to have told aspirants not to expect any favours from him even if they are his close friends.

UDM leader Ali Roba also attended the meeting at Wilson Airport which lasted for about an hour.

He, however, urged all aspirants under the Azimio-One Kenya coalition to marshal voters to turn up in large numbers to vote for him on August 9.

Yesterday, Owino told People Daily they had agreed on how to fetch votes for Azimio as well as on how to avoid chaotic campaigns and sibling rivalry in Siaya.

“We all agreed on the need to conduct peaceful campaigns in Siaya so as not to distract Baba (Raila) from the gruelling task of seeking votes from the rest of the country,” Gumbo and Owino wrote on their Twitter accounts.

Owino said they had proposed to Raila that Siaya county’s Azimio Campaign Committee be formed urgently to ensure maximum voter turnout.

And while addressing journalists in Siaya at the weekend, Gumbo said he was firmly in the race.

“I am still firmly in the race and I urge all my supporters to ignore all negative rumour mills on social media circles about my candidature,” he said.

Gumbo claimed some of his perceived political adversaries were spreading lies that he had been prevailed upon to drop his bid in exchange for plum State posts

This is after he met Raila and Roba at Wilson Airport at the weekend. Sources privy to the meeting disclosed that Raila reportedly told them to go and campaign peacefully. But Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, who is also the Director of ODM political affairs claimed they bumped into each other.

During the meeting, the two are said to have maintained that they will aggressively support Raila’s presidential campaign in Nyanza.

Unwavering support

The same chorus was robustly echoed by UDM boss Roba, who re-assured Raila of his party’s unwavering support.

“We want to echo that despite our candidates running against the ODM party, we are in Azimio and back you,” Roba said.

UDM Secretary-General David Ohito confirmed that the meeting between the two sides of the political divide was for the common good of all.

It is reported that Raila believes that Gumbo and Owino accept to drop their bid.

Yesterday, in a tweet, Wandayi said his attention was drawn to information circulating on social media about the meeting, which he said was wrong. “It has been brought to my attention about a supposed meeting between ODM leadership and UDM aspirants from Siaya to which I am alleged as a party,” he claimed.

He went on: “To set the records straight, we simply bumped into each other at Wilson Airport while on different personal missions.”

He claimed this was purely a chance encounter. “It had nothing to do with alleged resolution from the purported meeting, so such claims are fake,” Wandayi maintained.

On the flip side, Gumbo tweeted of a successful meeting between his party leader Roba and Raila.

“Earlier today, I met with my party leader Roba and Raila together with Owino and  Rarieda parliamentary candidate Neto Adhola and Wandayi,” Gumbo stated.

He disclosed that they discussed how every single vote in Siaya will be balloted in favour of Azimio.

Gumbo claimed that Raila gave them the blessings to go ahead and ensure that all Siaya seats go to Azimio la Umoja.

Wandayi had shelved and bolted out of the governor race in favour of Senator James Orengo

He is supporting Orengo alongside MPs Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Sam Atandi (Alego-Usonga)and Otiende Amollo (Rarieda).

Owino, the former National Police Spokesman and Gumbo paired and decamped to UDM to run for Siaya gubernatorial seat.

Gumbo who lost the seat in 2017 as an independent candidate joined the UDM party dreading ODM nominations.

He avoided rejoining the ODM party as nudged by ODM luminaries led by Dr Oburu Oginga.