'I want to be very clear and I have been very consistent on this, that we will only support any reform agenda that takes into consideration the interest of the Islamic religion and our region. It is as simple as that'
Residents of Northeastern region will only support the Building Bridges Initiative if its report captures their interests.
Garissa Township MP Aden Duale on Sunday said the people of Northeastern have their unique challenges which they want the reforms in the BBI report to address.
The BBI report is yet to be handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Duale said residents were eagerly waiting to know the contents of the document and were keenly following the debate around the initiative.
“I want to be very clear and I have been very consistent on this, that we will only support any reform agenda that takes into consideration the interest of the Islamic religion and our region. It is as simple as that," Duale said.
He was speaking at his Garissa home where he handed over a van to Asha Binti Abibakar Islamic School.
Duale is the patron of the Northeastern Parliamentary Group but has been opposed to the BBI since it was birthed by the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga in March 2018.
In February, Duale skipped a BBI rally in Garissa that was organised by Northeastern governors Ali Korane (Garissa), Mohammed Abdi (Wajir) and Ali Roba of Mandera.
The BBI task force is chaired by Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji.
"We will not be passengers in somebody else's vehicle. When you are on the driving seat, you must at same time also give me a chance to also drive after which another person will also take the driving seat of this vehicle called Kenya,”Duale said.
Last week, Raila said the BBI report could be released in days. The task force completed its work in June and has been waiting to hand over the report to the President.
In an exclusive interview at his Upper Hill office on Friday last week, Raila said he and Uhuru were exploring ways of releasing the report.
Commenting on Chief Justice David Maraga's advisory to the President to dissolve Parliament for failing to enact the two-thirds gender rule legislation, Duale said the CJ cannot force Kenyans to elect women when they don’t want to.
“In my view, the dissolution of Parliament will not in anyway solve the problem at hand," the former National Assembly Majority leader said.
"If anything it may even worsen the situation. The issue of electing leaders whether men or women squarely lies with the people.”
Edited by P.O