Business mogul and gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal has vowed to rally his base behind Mvita MP Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir who was this evening handed the ODM Party ticket for the Mombasa governor race.
Speaking to the press on Friday evening after a meeting with the party leader Raila Odinga, Shahbal said his decision to step down from the race in favor of Nassir was informed by his belief in a solid ODM in Mombasa and will be at the forefront of championing the unity agenda ahead of August polls.
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”I have been aspiring to become the Governor of Mombasa for ten years. But the objective of becoming governor was not for Suleiman Shahbal. The objective was to bring change and development to the people of Mombasa.
”I believe that all those people who worked with me were hoping that we would make major changes in Mombasa,” he said during the presser, also attended by ODM county leadership in the county led by Mombasa boss and ODM Deputy Party leader Governor Ali Hassan Joho.
Shahbal, who decamped from Jubilee to ODM in 2019 said his decision to support the Mvita MP was because the county was more important than individual political interests.
”It is not important that Suleiman Shahbal leads those changes. What is important is that those changes happen and today we have decided we will work with Abdulswamad and we will work with him a hundred percent for the future development and the future changes that we need to bring in Mombasa,” Shahbal added.
On his part, Abdulswamad described Shahbal as a worthy competitor whose support he does not take for granted, promising to work hand in hand with the businessman to make Mombasa better.
“He is a worthy competitor and we all wanted a good Mombasa. I know Baba you have said you’ll take him to national politics but we will need him to work in Mombasa,” the ODM candidate said.
