Azimio wants President William Ruto to fully fund the office of the Official Leader of the Opposition, whose creation he proposed during a Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting on Monday, December 5.
Raila Odinga's coalition party wants his office, if approved by the National Assembly, to be funded by the ex-chequer and have at least one annual address to Parliament.
Leaders privy to the document disclosed that Azimio also pushed for Odinga to be granted powers to nominate members to statutory commissions.
However, the National Assembly Majority Whip, Silvanus Osoro, explained that Ruto's proposal was an olive branch extended to the former Prime Minister.
"He (Raila) got 6.9 million votes, it is only fair to give him a good office to operate from and keep the government in check. We recognise the efforts he has made for the country," he explained.
Osoro watered down claims that the President's proposal was part of a sinister plot to silence Raila, who had been relentless in gatekeeping the government.
"During Moi's era, we had an opposition leader who used to sit in Parliament. The only difference is that we will not adopt the same this time round," he remarked.
Amid the speculation, Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang termed the creation of the office unconstitutional.
"You cannot do it within the framework of the current Constitution without amendments and that requires the country to go to a referendum," Kajwang' explained.
He further trolled Kenya Kwanza for rejecting the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), yet it was hell-bent on amending the Constitution.
"The people gave us the power to demonstrate and made us the official opposition. These changes Kenya Kwanza is seeking can only be granted by the people and not via Parliament," the Senator argued.
Meanwhile, jitters rose in the Kenya Kwanza camp, with lawmakers differing over Raila's proposed office. Gatanga MP, Gabriel Kagombe, backed the move, but with conditions.
"We want a responsible opposition that will be held accountable for its actions so that people stop imagining that they can do whatever they want because they are the opposition leader," Kagombe noted.
Other leaders argued that the creation of the office would further strain the national budget and the bloating wage bills. Kenya Kwanza and Azimio are set to table their proposals in Parliament as the two sides rush to empower Raila.
