Governor Wycliffe Oparanya is using his recent Nyamira trip to create a strong political base in Nyanza as race to succeed Raila Odinga intensifies.
An official who attended Oparanya's two hours meeting at Damside Hotel says the county boss will reach out to officials from all Nyanza Counties to create rapport and position himself as Raila Odinga's apparent heir.
"He openly told us that he will be sponsoring activities in our base as part of revamping the party. This is part of his wider strategy to establish himself as a de facto in ODM," he said.
During the trip, besides meeting ODM officials, Oparanya attended two other events across the county where he insisited that Raila's appointment will not affect the party's internal operations.
ODM Youth League leader Dennis Marube confirmed that Oparanya will meet the Nyamira officials later on in January as part of his pilot strategy to stamp authority in the Orange party.
"He called a while ago and asked me to plan another meeting at his Kakamega offices. He wants to meet more leaders so that we can strengthen the party. I am hopeful that by January we would meet him to lay down more strategies in uniting the party."
During his one day trip, Oparanya was accompanied by Senator Okong'o Mogeni, who also hailed his effort to unite and revamp the party in Western part of the country.
Party treasurer Timothy Bosire, in an interview, said that the deputy party leader is free to mobilise support for the party in its solid bedrock of Nyanza and Western regions.
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