ODM rebel Arama confident of re-election on Jubilee ticket

Nakuru Town West MP Samuel Arama has called on his constituents to vote for leaders on the basis of manifestos and not their political parties.

Mr Arama, who is branded as Nakuru’s ODM rebel, was speaking Monday at his residence, where he had organised a prayer meeting that doubled as a party.

While declaring that he is confident of clinching re-election on a Jubilee party ticket, Mr Arama said he has recorded significant development in his five-year term as MP.

"If a party is not working for you, why die for it? You should instead focus on what an individual leader has done for the people but not their party,” said the legislator.

He said he is confident that all communities living in Nakuru Town West will vote for him.

He noted that in his term as MP, roads have been tarmacked and classrooms built at a cost of Sh120 million, projects that were funded by the national government through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).

UNITE PEOPLE

While emphasising the importance of integration, Mr Arama noted that his constituency has voters from all communities in Kenya.

“We want to work with members from all the communities and vote in leaders who are ready to unite everyone,” he said, adding that the country does not want the violence it witnessed after the 2007 elections.

While explaining his reasons for defecting from ODM to Jubilee, Mr Arama cited development as a key motivation.

“I moved to Jubilee after realising that I will have nothing to show to my voters for the 2017 re-lection bid if I remained in Nasa,” he added.

Mr Arama said the Jubilee administration has changed the face of his constituency through various projects.

And while hitting out at his opponents for “lacking a strategy in vote hunting”, Mr Arama said most of them are “foreigners” who do not reside in Nakuru and do not understand the issues affecting Nakuru Town East Constituency.