Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Monday issued his response to the day's hard-hitting Daily Nation front-page story titled 'Rot in Nairobi' that highlighted the governor's unfulfilled promises so far in areas such as roads, water, garbage and traffic.
In a conversation with Kenyans.co.ke, Sonko's Deputy County Director of Communications levelled serious allegations against the daily which the Governor has previously threatened to sue and gave explanations for some of the deplorable conditions featured in the story.
The Director cited a recent Daily Nation exposé on the alleged chaotic workings of his office as evidence that the media giant was out to get him before going on to list reasons why he believes this is so.
He claimed that the county government recently denied the Nation lucrative advertisements on devolution marking the start of scathing attacks against him.
He further alleged that the stories were paid-for and planted by powerful cartels which were strongly opposed to his style of leadership and were out to finish him politically.
[caption caption="Nation Centre buldings in Nairobi"]
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The Governor admitted that a number of his promises had not been fulfilled but blamed 'serious corruption' in former Governor Evans Kidero's regime for stalled projects as procurement processes were reviewed.
He, however, vowed that he would deliver and called for Nairobians to back the recently launched Nairobi Regeneration taskforce which he leads alongside Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.
The Governor also noted that the recent Sh15.7 billion allocation from the Treasury would be properly put to use as he asked Kenyans to judge him on the basis of results.
When contacted by Kenyans.co.ke, Daily Nation refused to comment on the matter of being denied adverts, only reiterating the factuality of the articles.
"The information in the stories is factual, do you see anything that is not factual?" a representative of the paper posed.
The story questioned how the reality on the ground was noticeably different from Sonko's social media pages which gave the impression of a governor working around the clock.
Along with striking images, it placed a spotlight on the county's shortcomings such as poor sanitation, water shortages and dilapidated roads even within the city centre.
[caption caption="Governor Mike Sonko"]
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