BBI Referendum is no longer Tenable - ODM Deputy Party Leader

ODM deputy party leader Wycliffe Oparanya has stated that the BBI referendum is no longer tenable due to the harsh economic times caused by Covid-19.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Kakamega Governor said the pandemic had made the situation worse adding that were it not for the pandemic, the country would have had the referendum. 

"As we move nearer to the election it will no longer be tenable. You know a referendum is just like a general election. The expenses involved are heavy so you have another general election because everyone is voting then in another twelve months you're now going to have another election. I don't think with the debts we have it's going to be tenable," Oparanya stated. 

This comes hours after ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna criticized the government for announcing new tough Covid-19 measures without providing an economic stimulus package to cushion Kenyans from the negative effects of the pandemic.

Sifuna noted that all resources available should be channeled to acquiring vaccines, adding that if there’s any money set aside for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Constitutional Amendment push, it should be used to purchase vaccines. 

“Kenyans are tired of consultations and stories, even if we do not have our own original ideas, copy what others are doing in the world…There is no money spent on BBI, but if there is a single shilling that was going into BBI we can use it to buy vaccines,” he said.