Kilifi North MP Owen Baya has written to ODM leader Raila Odinga seeking the removal of John Mbadi as National Assembly Minority leader.
Yesterday, Raila met the Central Management Committee of the party -a critical organ of the party- to determine the line of action against emerging internal mutiny.
However, the meeting focused on the party’s financial position. No concrete decision was made on how to deal with ODM lawmakers who disobeyed Raila and voted against the 8% fuel tax on Thursday last week.
Raila is said to have objected a push to whip the rebellious MPs and instead called for dialogue at their parliamentary group caucus. He said disciplining MPs will be counterproductive.
Baya, the party's deputy organising secretary, accused Mbadi of failing to offer better leadership during the chaotic enactment of the Finance Bill, 2018.
He said the ODM chairman failed miserably to convince the minority side to take a common position.
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"Although under instruction from the party and coalition leader to mobilise the members to vote for the instruments that were coming before the House Mbadi failed miserably," Baya said in the letter dated September 25.
He said since the party leadership took a position to support President Uhuru Kenyatta’s memorandum, onus was on Mbadi to convince members to back it.
"Our first strategy is to first write to the party leader to act. But if he fails to take any action, we will take the battle to the floor of the House just liked it happened in the Senate when Minority leader Moses Wetang'ula was kicked out," Baya said.
He defended MPs who rejected the bill. Baya said ODM has its own principles, values, and objectives
"A shift from the ideologies require comprehensive and concerted efforts agreeable across the rank and file of the party," he said.
Contacted, Mbadi laughed off Baya’s push to remove him. He called him an inexperienced and idle politician.
"I don’t have time to respond to idlers who, in my view, don’t know where they belong in the first place and have no capacity to understand complex issues," he said.
Removal of the Minority leader requires the support of a majority of NASA MPs.