The third speaker of the Nyeri county Assembly will be picked from Tetu constituency.
Speaking during the swearing in ceremony of Mutahi Kahiga as Nyeri governor on Thursday, deputy president-elect Rigathi Gachagua said that senior United Democratic Alliance party officials in the county were keen on honouring a pre-election agreement where the county’s top seats would have representation from each of the six constituencies.
According to the agreement Rigathi said, governor Kahiga, who hails from Kieni constituency, would pick his deputy from Mukurwe-ini while the senator was to come from Mathira constituency.
The Woman Representative, the Deputy President Elect added was to come from Othaya constituency while Tetu constituency was to give the Speaker to the County assembly.
Gachagua said that as part of the agreement, governor Kahiga once sworn in would also nominate a County Executive Committee Member (CEC) from Nyeri Town constituency to ensure the county’s leadership bears the face of the county.
“Let me thank the governor for providing the leadership of inclusivity. He called us and proposed that every constituency be represented. He said that since he comes from Kieni, he will appoint his deputy from Mukurwe-ini. What is left is for him to now appoint a CEC from Nyeri Town so that everybody feels part and parcel of government and that is what we want in this county, the politics of inclusivity,” he said.
Already, the immediate former Tetu MP James Gichuhi has been fronted to succeed John Kaguchia as speaker of the Nyeri county assembly. Kaguchia is currently the MP-elect for Mukurweini constituency. At the same time, James Kanyugo, who was re-elected as the Mahiga Ward Representative has been fronted to retain his post as the assembly’s majority leader.
In a phone interview with KNA, Nyeri UDA coordinator, Lucy Wanyitu, said that the UDA leaders had unanimously agreed to support the two candidates for their respective positions in the assembly and that their names had been presented to the county assembly for consideration.
“As party leaders we unanimously settled on the Francis Gichuhi to take up the speakers position and for James Kanyugo to retain his position as majority leader in the assembly. These are just proposals, of course more people will present their applications and voting to determine who take up the positions will be done on the floor of the assembly when the governor announces the opening day for the third session,” said Wanyitu.
During the August 9 elections, UDA clinched 26 out of the 30 seats in the Nyeri County Assembly. Three of the seats were clinched by independent candidates while one seat went to the ANC party which is affiliated to UDA.
Gichuhi is poised to take over from Kaguchia who is accredited for steering the most peaceful assembly in the county. The first Nyeri county assembly was characterized by disunity between the MCAs and the executive which saw the county being ranked 45 in development for a majority of its five years.
During his address, Gachagua asked the incoming ward representatives to collaborate with the county executive arm as way of ensuring that the county doesn’t lag behind in development matters. He also asked the ward reps to uphold the legacy set by the second assembly.
