Opposition governors from Western and Nyanza counties yesterday denied claims they use county funds to bankroll Cord leader Raila Odinga’s rallies and foreign trips.
They are Sospeter Ojaamong (Busia), Okoth Obado (Migori), Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay), Jack Ranguma (Kisumu) and Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega).
They said the claims by Jubilee MPs last week are a plot to divert the public’s attention from graft cases rocking the national government.
Last week, majority leader Aden Duale said Cord governors give Raila a monthly stipend and sponsor his trips abroad and countrywide.
He says he has evidence but has not provided it.
He accused Raila of double standards in fighting corruption, saying he protects opposition governors accused of looting millions of shillings from the counties.
Last week, Auditor General Edward Ouko released reports showing millions of shillings of unaccounted spending in the counties run by both Jubilee and opposition governors.
Among the counties named are Migori, Kakmega, Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay and Vihiga. Raila defended governors and accused the auditor of biased reports. He blamed the government payment platform.
Obado said no money has been lost in his administration. He challenged Jubilee MPs to prove otherwise.
“I was elected on the PDP ticket and there is no way one can purport that Raila has been protecting me over nonexistent corruption,” he said. Obado said money channeled to Migori has been used for the intended projects.
“The issue of money lost is neither here nor there. My administration has never funded Raila,” he told the Star on the phone.
Oparanya called the auditing “unethical”.
Ojaamong said, “Jubilee is using a barrage of misinformation, disinformation and propaganda to make Kenyans believe Raila is why they cannot tackle corruption.” He said Jubilee schemes to portray Cord governors as “thieves”. “Jubilee machinations to make governors appear corrupt will flop.
Let them focus on fighting massive corruption,” he tweeted.
Ojaamong said the role of fighting corruption is vested in the office of the Attorney General, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, not the opposition leader.
“For Jubilee, blaming Raila is easier than tackling the real issues affecting this great nation. It is not enough for Jubilee to say Raila is not fighting corruption in Cord counties.
You have the instruments, just do your job,” he said. Awiti said the allegations against Cord governors are cheap propaganda to divert public attention from the billions of shillings lost by the state.
Ranguma said Duale’s allegations are untrue, adding Raila “cannot engage in acts to hurt the devolved systems”.
“Raila championed the devolution cause and it is in his best interest for it to succeed,” he said.