The National Metropolitan Services (NMS) took centre stage during the Nairobi Governor’s debate as the two front runners Johnson Sakaja and Polycarp Igathe faced off.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) gubernatorial candidate Sakaja blamed his rival for the formation of the NMS.
Sakaja pointed out that the ripple effect of Igathe’s resignation led to relinquishing of control of the City to NMS which was a setback to devolution.
“If Igathe did not quit, NMS would not have come up, and these developments would be achieved. You are praising the consequence of you leaving duty- (Mike) Sonko would not have been impeached if Igathe would not have left," he said.
Sakaja further said Igathe was unfit to lead the city having absconded duty as Deputy Governor which he claims is a clear indication he is not fit to hold a public office.
“Igathe, you ran away from people’s mandate and Nairobi needs resilience. The fact is that you ran away from the office, Nairobi residents can’t trust you with managing the affairs of the city,” he stated.
Going further, the UDA candidate also criticized Igathe for praising NMS, saying the entity was in charge of the City’s affairs as a result of his inability to remain in office.
“You can’t praise the consequence of absconding duty. I want to assure you that we will take full of control of Nairobi once I take office,” Sakaja added.
Igathe, however, defended his move to resign, saying that he was not allocated duties and therefore he couldn’t continue earning a salary from taxpayers’ money.
He also noted that NMS was a creature of the law and that its term had almost elapsed.
“I will terminate NMS’s contract because I have a better strategy that will take full control of City Hall’s operations,” Igathe said.
The Azimio candidate had earlier revealed that he was the brains behind the formation of the NMS which was pushed by President Uhuru Kenyatta to fix Nairobi's issues in 2020.
"The information I provided to my party leader to fix the situation in Nairobi is what then gave birth to NMS. I didn’t have to do it in public because the best work in life is done in silence, ” Igathe said.
If elected, he pledged to further the development projects initiated by NMS if elected as Nairobi fourth governor.
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