Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi was on Monday elected to serve as the chairperson to the Council of Governors replacing Kirinyaga counterpart Anne Waiguru whose tenure ended after serving for two terms.
Abdullahi won the election held at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi where Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga was elected to serve as his Vice Chairperson.
The race had initially brought together five county chiefs who jostled for the position including Wajir County Governor Ahmed Abdullahi, Nyeri counterpart Mutahi Kahiga, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.
After the declaration, Waiguru is expected to hold her last State of the Nation address at the same venue and hand over the mantle.
The election process, which took over five hours, involved several key considerations before any of the chiefs could be elected to the position. A primary factor was the number of times a contestant had participated in the Council's previous meetings.
The process also aimed to ensure regional balance in electing Kenya's next CoG chairperson to avoid the seat returning to the same region consecutively. This is reported to have worked for Abdullahi given that he is coming from one of the counties that has not had its leaders lead the Council.
Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njoki will continue to serve as the chairperson of the CoG's Health Committee and is expected to be a key figure in the rollout of Kenya's universal health coverage strategies as the national government continues to urge transition to the new Social Health Insurance Fund(SHIF).
The elections had initially been planned to be a consensus before the Governors failed to agree on who would take over. This prompted a ballot process where the Wajir County chief emerged as the winner.
Abdullahi will now take over the Council of County Governors (CoG) which is a non-partisan organization established under Sec.19 of the (IGRA 2012) comprising the Governors of the 47 Counties and will be expected to champion the interests of the counties.
He will also be mandated to champion timely resource allocation to counties even as a standoff between the national government and the counties continue to play out over delayed financial disbursement, a position that has threatened to cripple services at the devolved units.
Other key functions that he will be expected to oversee include the promotion of visionary leadership, sharing of best governance practices, and offering a collective voice on policy issues on the performance of County Governments.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi is also expected to attend the welcoming ceremony and the installation of the Wajir County Chief as the chairperson of the Governor's Council.
