Munyes upbeat about succeeding Nanok after Uhuru's endorsement

Former Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes is confident he will succeed Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok after Turkana South MP James Lomenen and county assembly Speaker Erastus Lokaale shelved their gubernatorial bids to support him under Jubilee.

This is after the intervention of President Uhuru Kenyatta, who, the politicians said, stressed the need for unity.

Mr Lokaale and Mr Lomenen expressed their interest in the county’s top seat while they were in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party. But UDA picked Turkana Central MP John Lodepe as its preferred candidate, the two defected in protest.

Mr Lokaale will now deputise Mr Munyes, if he bags the seat, while the two-term MP will focus on the Senate seat after all Jubilee aspirants for various seats were issued with nomination tickets on Wednesday in Lodwar.

"We have officially unveiled a formidable team of experienced politicians with the desire to positively impact positive development through selfless leadership. My administration’s priority will be to tackle food insecurity, water scarcity, poverty and unemployment and improve healthcare," Mr Munyes said.

Mr Munyes, a seasoned politician, said devolved funds can have a meaningful impact if corruption is not tolerated, asking Mr Lomenen to be vigilant on his oversight role if they both win their seats.

"During my tenure as the pioneer senator, 132 cases were forwarded to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on mismanagement of public funds by the county government so that the funds are recovered and spent prudently," Mr Munyes said.

Mr Lomenen said that failure of the incumbent governor to work closely with the national government and legislators, especially the senator, had seen the county lose out on multimillion-shillings projects.

"Besides the devolved funds, as a senator, I will lobby for mega projects, especially dams from the national government so that locals can benefit from both levels of government," he said.

Mr Lokaale said he shelved his bid because he believed that with their unity, they would form the next county administration and share varied ideas on developing the region.

County Jubilee chairman Nicholas Ngikor said ODM, the only party they competed against in the last General Election, had lost vigour in the county despite forming successive administrations under Governor Nanok.

Mr Ngikor said divisions in the party paved the way for UDA in the county, with loyalists of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential hopeful Raila Odinga now left without clear leadership.

"Jubilee should be given powers under the spirit of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya to battle with UDA, which is yet to unveil its deputy governor candidate," he said.

Loima MP Jeremiah Lomorukai was handed the ODM ticket to vie for the governor's seat, a situation that could cause sibling rivalry under the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya umbrella.

Woman Representative Joyce Emanikor was cleared by Jubilee to vie for the Turkana Central parliamentary seat.

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