Billionaire businessman Jimmy Wanjigi is a lone wolf in ODM as the party leadership pile pressure on him to stop his campaigns.
Wanjigi believes he can take party leader Raila Odinga head-on and win to be ODM presidential flagbearer in 2022 election.
The tycoon has launched spirited campaigns to popularize his candidature, attacking Raila in the process.
While launching his campaign, the billionaire said that ODM is a national party and doesn’t belong to Raila as many think.
“ODM is a national party that was started by many people among them President Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy President William Ruto and Wiper Party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka among others and not Odinga’s personal outfit,” he said.
In an interview with Citizen TV, Wanjigi rattled ODM and its supporters when he called on Raila to retire claiming that he has lost his glamour.
Wanjigi’s blunt attacks on Raila does not seat well with ODM top leadership who believe he is doing more harm than good to the party and its leader.
The tycoon has caused internal wrangles within ODM, members question his intentions while some have called on him to stop the campaigns.
Wanjigi’s quest to be ODM flagbearer was dealt a heavy blow after the party’s two deputies Mombasa governor Hassan Joho and Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya dropped their bids to support Raila.
The move by Joho and Oparanya now makes Wanjigi look like an outsider and a villain with an intention to rock the ODM party.
Oparanya has since called on Wanjigi to shelves his presidential dreams and use his money to support his party leader Raila.
The Kakamega county boss is adamant that Wanjigi cannot beat Raila in the party preliminaries, and as such he should emulate Joho and him.
“We want Wanjigi to emulate us because I did the math, I looked at the situation and realized that I was not going to beat Raila. I have left the presidential campaign trail but I will still continue to be deeply involved in supporting Raila’s Azimio la Umoja,” Oparanya said.
Related: Blow To Wanjigi As ODM Explains Why He Won’t Be The Flag bearer In 2022 Elections