- The Azimio boss will grace the 14th annual Leadership Conference and Awards that will be held on January 31, 2023.
- In 2010, while serving as Prime Minister together with President Mwai Kibaki, he led the review of Kenya’s constitution.
Image: EMMANUEL WANSON
Opposition chief Raila Odinga will address an international conference as the keynote speaker in Abuja, Nigeria next month.
The Azimio boss will grace the 14th annual Leadership Conference and Awards that will be held on January 31, 2023.
The event is themed; ‘Credible Elections and Economy in Transition.
The management of the conference said that the former prime minister has been invited because of his long-standing push for free, fair and credible elections.
Raila has also been picked due to his aspirations for liberation of Africa from poverty through good political leadership.
“The theme of this year’s conference, which is coincidentally taking place at a time the country is going into the general election, resonates well with Odinga’s sustained clamour for free, fair, credible and hitch-free election,” the Punch, a Nigerian daily newspaper, reported.
“Hence, we expect him to dissect this topic at the conference and, ultimately, offer his views on how African countries can have enduring democracy through credible polls."
The paper said Raila will share his thoughts on how African countries can ensure free, fair and credible polls as a means of further consolidating democracy on the continent.
Raila is decorated for his call for a fair and just electoral process in Kenya. In August, Raila lost the presidential bid to President William Ruto.
Often, Raila has blamed electoral malpractices for his loss. He has led calls to reform the the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Raila joined parliamentary politics in 1992 when he vied for the Lang’ata parliamentary seat on Ford Kenya party ticket which was led by his father, Jaramogi Odinga.
He won the seat beating the incumbent, Philip Leakey, who was then an assistant minister under former President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
Odinga was successfully re-elected for four terms.
In 2010, while serving as Prime Minister together with President Mwai Kibaki, he led the review of Kenya’s constitution.
"The new constitution provides for a presidential system and disallows presidential candidates from being members of parliament,” the paper said.
Raila has contested for the country’s top seat five times – 1997, 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022, and has been detained for championing the second liberation of the country.
“As a social democrat, he believes in equality and equitable distribution of resources and has consistently championed good governance. He is also a champion of free press and freedom of expression. His wish for Africa is to have elections that are free from manipulation and for the will of the people to prevail."