Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has pledged to lobby the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) National Delegates Convention (NDC) to formally elect Senator Oburu Oginga as Raila Odinga’s successor.
He said the meeting will be convened after the burial of the late ODM leader.
In a press briefing on Friday, October 17, 2025, at the Opoda farm in Siaya county, Wandayi said that Oburu has the experience to keep the mantle of ODM burning.
“I will be proposing, as a live member of ODM, that ODM convene very, very quickly, soon after Baba’s send-off, the national delegates convention to actually confirm Dr. Oburu’s appointment and, in fact, to elect him formally as the party leader of ODM,” he stated.
“We believe Dr. Oburu Odinga has got the wherewithal, remains experienced, and has the composure to steer this party to the next level,” the CS added.
In the meantime, the Siaya Senator has been appointed by the ODM National Executive Council (NEC) as the interim party leader following the demise of Raila Odinga.
Wandayi lauded the appointment as a strategic move to maintain stability in the faction.
“ODM, which is the party that I belong to, and that all of us here belong to, has made a very wise decision to appoint Dr. as the acting party leader,” the CS said.
Continue working with Ruto
While the future of the ODM continues to attract speculation after Raila’s burial, Wandayi, a member of the faction and a staunch ally of the late premier, has said that they will continue to work with President William Ruto even beyond the 2027 General Elections.
“Indeed, Baba has left us as a people in government. Baba has left us in government, led by President William Ruto, and that is where we are going to stay till the end. I can dare say, without any fear of contradiction, that we are going to walk step by step with the President to the end now and beyond 2027,” he declared.
He said the UDA-ODM pact is alive and that they have no intentions to disregard it because Ruto has extended the olive branch to Raila’s turf and has even given him a State burial.
“We are going to walk with Ruto step by step, and he is going to get directions from Oburu Oginga, working with close partners such as UDA on a broad-based government,” he said.
