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Kephers Otieno

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) deputy party leader Wycliffe Oparanya has urged businessman Jimi Wanjigi to drop his presidential ambitions in favour of Opposition chief Raila Odinga.

Oparanya who has withdrawn his presidential bid to support Raila wants  Wanjigi to  follow suit.

Wanjigi has been touring the country campaigning for the ODM presidential ticket for the next General Election.

The businessman, who raided Raila’s Nyanza backyard last week, has challenged the party to conduct free and fair primaries.

Oparanya’s call comes barely a week after Mombasa governor Hassan Joho also dropped his presidential bid and threw his weight behind Raila.

Dropped bid

“We want Wanjigi to emulate us because I did the math, I looked at the situation and realised that I wasn’t going to beat Raila,’’ he said.

The Kakamega governor announced that he had abandoned his presidential campaign plans to focus on marketing Raila “I have left the presidential campaign trail but I will still continue to be deeply involved in supporting Raila’s Azimio La Umoja,’’ he said in an interview with People Daily.

Oparanya disclosed that he reached the conclusion upon sensing that he would waste money and resources grappling with his political future. But he explained that he was repositioning himself to succeed Raila when he exits active politics.

 ‘’At the moment, I must restate that the party’s top brass met several times and zeroed in on Raila as flag bearer,’’ he said.