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Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Wednesday issued a statement on the handover of functions to the National Government.
Governor Sonko explained that the handover was his idea, adding that together with his team they had studied other cities of the world and found that the handover would be appropriate.
"To address the unique needs of Nairobi City County, my Government set out on a fact finding mission that saw us benchmark and take lessons from other jurisdictions across the world including Washington DC in the US and Abuja in Nigeria.
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"From these case studies, we established that cities and metropolis, the size of Nairobi, are best served jointly by devolved units and Central Governments.
"Equipped with this knowledge, and in my capacity as the Governor, I initiated discussions with the National Government with a view of finding a sustainable approach to service delivery that leverages both on the County and National resources and competencies," Sonko's statement outlined.
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The Nation on Thursday, however, reported that Governor Sonko may have been ambushed into signing the deal.
When Sonko left his home to come to the city, he was only prepared to meet MCAs at his Upper Hill office and had no idea the day would end with his powers significantly neutered.
At around 11am, President Uhuru through State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua summoned Sonko to the house on the hill - giving him only 15 minutes to show up.
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