Kisumu County Deputy Governor Mathews Owili has started early plans to succeed his boss Professor Anyang' Nyong'o in 2027.
Owili who hails from Nyakach Sub-county has made it clear that he is ripe for the position.
He is leveraging the ODM party recruitment drive to reach out to the people to register as party members and sell his agenda to Nyakach voters.
However, Nyakach could field 3 candidates to battle for the governor's position.
The two others include the current area MP Aduma Owuor and the current Kisumu Senator Profesor Tom Ojienda.
"The seat of the Governor must be occupied by somebody from Nyakach and he is none other than Dr Mathews Owili," he told party supporters on Saturday during the launch of the recruitment drive.
He will square it out for the ODM nominations certificate with Aduma since Ojienda is technically out of the equation to scrabble for the ODM ticket.
Ojienda is among ODM MPs who have locked horns with the party's leadership over their dalliance with the Kenya Kwanza administration.
After the 2022 elections, Ojienda trooped to the State House to work with the Kenya Kwanza government, putting him at loggerheads with the ODM supporters.
However, it's unclear which party Ojienda will use to contest for the gubernatorial seat in 2027. He has previously said he has not abandoned ODM.
Owili noted he is an ardent party supporter and convinced that he will floor Aduma in the party ticket nominations.
"I know Aduma is also a party diehard but I am ahead of him in this race," he said at Urudi primary school.
The deputy governor has been credited with working closely with Governor Nyong'o at a time when many deputy governors are at war with their bosses.
Owili asked the locals with identity cards who are yet to join the ODM party to grab the opportunity ahead of the party's grassroots elections.
"We implore our young people who are acquiring IDs to register with our party, not through intimidation or coercion," he said.
During the recruitment drive, party officials threw their weight behind the candidature of Owili in 2027.
The party sub-branch chairman Charles Seko said that Nyakach people are behind Owili to ''bring the win home in the coming polls.''
"2027 is the year of Nyakach to produce the next Governor, we have our sons who have declared interest but we will stand by the DG," he said.
During the event, Aduma spoke and left the venue with several youths behind him.
It was unclear if he had asked them to follow him but leaders blamed him for the walkout.
This did not go well with the party officials who had braved the heavy rains at the launch.
Meanwhile, Owili has since embarked on a tour of the county projects in the sub-counties to check on their status.
"The tour aims to listen to the people, see if the projects mean something to them," he said.
His development tour alongside the party recruitment drive will take him to all seven sub-counties.
