Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has declared that his ambition to run for the top seat will not bring collision between him and Raila Odinga.
According to Joho “Raila is my party leader whom I have respected since I joined politics in 2002. I will work with no political figure apart from him. So far, he has not asked me not to run for the presidency. We shall agree on the issue when time comes.”
The ODM deputy party leader also downplayed the political rebellion against him and ODM in the Coast. Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi and a host of MPs have in the recent past indicated their willingness to work with Deputy President William Ruto in the run up to the next general election.
The Governor said he intends to continue touring the country to seek support for his 2022 bid.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Thursday evening, he said he is focused on the top job.
“I am fully committed to being the next president in 2022. This is because I believe I have all it takes to run the country,” he said.
He added: “I am not worried about dissenting voices because I am not looking for Coast leadership. I am reaching out to the rest of the country. I want to be a national leader. However, Coast is fully in ODM. Just find out from the grassroots.”
Mr Joho also said he will reach out to Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli and Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi in the coming days.
The Governor once again defended his recent meeting with former President Daniel arap Moi saying it concerned national unity.
“Let’s appreciate that Moi led this country for 24 years and has contributed a lot to its development. Whenever I get an opportunity to meet Moi, I will grab it,” he said.
“The first thing Mzee Moi told us was to unite our country. That is why we visited West Pokot to talk to spread the unity message. We shall traverse the rest of the country to spread this message.”
During the visit, Joho was welcomed by Baringo Senator Gideon Moi, Tiaty MP William Kamket, Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat and Moiben MP Silas Tiren.
He visited with Coast leaders including MPs Mishi Mboko, Zulekha Hassan, Ken Chonga, Abdikarim Osman, Teddy Mwambire and Florence Mutua, as well as Senior Mombasa County officers and Assembly Speaker Arub Khatri.