Mandera leaders: We fully support the BBI

Leaders from Mandera County fully back the Building Bridges Initiative report and the proposals for constitutional changes, area governor has said.

Governor Ali Roba (above) and Senator Muhammad Mohamud said they have thrown their weight behind the proposed changes in governance structure and promised to rally residents to back them.

Roba said he supports the initiative to increase county allocations from 15-45 percent arguing it is in tandem with some of his views to the committee that visited Mandera to collect and collate view.

The two spoke in response to the disgruntled Economic Freedom Party (EFP) chairman Issack Abbey, who accused of opposing the BBI yesterday.

 “Kenya is a highly political country with everyone trying desperately to outdo each other in an effort to catch the eyes of the masters in any setting, Roba said, adding:

“Sound leadership will always study the scene and verify in order to sieve the truth from the play staged by individuals. Otherwise if we continuously fall for the play on the stage we risk turning people with noble intent, action and commitment into enemies continuously using nonexistent lies.”

The duo affirmed that their support could be established in the time they hosted Senator Yussuf Haji during BBI team’s visit to the county and were happy their views to increase county funds are contained.

They lashed at the EFP boss and told him to desist from punching above his weight politically.

He said: “Isack Abbey should play in his league. The leadership of the country entirely adopted and agreed to support the handshake and BBI. No one is opposed to it.”

“Individuals like Isack of EFP who is sharing his private political statement to fight for relevance and space forgetting how inconsequential he is in the county trying to match himself with a respectable leaders of the County.”

Yesterday, Mr Abbey singled out Governor Roba and Senator Maalim for being unreceptive to supporting the BBI.

“We are concerned by the lackluster manner our governor and other senior leaders from the region have adopted on the important national matter of BBI. It is no time for fence-sitters or watermelons, we either support BBI or we are against it and face the consequences,” said Abbey in a statement.