Polycarp Igathe, who is seeking the Nairobi gubernatorial seat on a Jubilee Ticket under Azimio-OKA, was tasked with explaining how is ready to take up the responsibility after resigning previously as Deputy Governor, during the gubernatorial debate on Monday evening.
Igathe was elected as deputy governor along with Mike Sonko in 2017 but resigned after six months in office citing lack of trust by the governor to enable him “to drive Administration & Management of the county.”
The politician however said that despite how events turned out in the past, he is now more than ready to serve Nairobi for five years. According to him, he only quit because he could not continue earning a salary for a job that he was not doing.
“I am ready and well prepared to serve Kenyans in Nairobi city for five years. When I was the deputy governor, I said I was not given responsibilities to undertake as a deputy governor and there is one thing that we have to agree on, there are many who are elected but how many perform their duties and genuinely get salaries? I can’t accept a salary without doing a job,” Igathe said.
“Sonko is my friend and my political teacher, especially Nairobi politics, I respect him but there is a difference between a job and friendship. I cannot come to the office and everyday my job is to read a magazine and leave my coat on the chair and then go to sleep. There has to be a task and programme on how to undertake it and if you don’t get that, you respect the constitution,” he added.
According to Igathe he took the step to resign because of the respect that he has for the constitution and does not blame anyone for what befell him.
“Article 1 of the constitution states that sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya and when I took a reverse gear on my job I was saying I respect the constitution, the electorates and today I am being interviewed as an employee of the Nairobi people. I assure them that I will work for them
“I failed to earn the trust to deliver my mandate as deputy governor. I never blamed anybody, I blamed myself and I fell on my sword. Today we see a lot of people who rather than quit their position continue to sit there and enjoy the trappings of power, I did not quit on you, I if quit on you I would not have come to present myself again,” Igathe noted.
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