The much anticipated meeting between President Dr William Samoei Ruto and a delegation of Siaya legislators led by Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo is now set for Thursday this week.
An initial breakfast invite for the Siaya leaders was put off since the head of the delegation Governor Orengo was in India, on personal business. This second meeting has been scheduled courtesy of both Governor Orengo and Energy CS James Opiyo Wandayi.
The delegation is set to comprise of Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, Alego-Usonga MP Samuel Onunga Atandi, Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo Akuba, Rarieda MP Paul Otiende Amollo, Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda and Ugenya MP David Ochieng.
Ugunja may be represented by Energy CS James Opiyo Wandayi as a by-election to get someone else to occupy his office is yet-to-be-conducted.
Siaya County is a melting pot of divergent political ideologies and the Kenya Kwanza administration has not been embraced wholesale by the top leadership as elsewhere in Nyanza.
Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo has been adamant that the constitution should be the yardstick of measurement for equitable wealth distribution among Kenyans and not necessarily political lobbying.
Orengo, a sworn advocate of good governance has been critical of an administration that dangles carrots to Governors and instead called for open dialogue between the national and county governments in efforts to strengthen Devolution.
Sources have confirmed that the agenda of the meeting is that the leaders from Siaya will present a memorandum outlining priority projects they wish the Kenya Kwanza administration to intervene in.
In the preceding weeks simmering supremacy battles have been witnessed among supporters of Governor Orengo on one hand and those of Wandayi and Oburu on the other.
Interestingly Oburu Oginga has finally come out in support of the Governor saying divisions will not serve them well and they were going to State House as a team with a clearly defined purpose.
“We are going to State House a unified team behind our Governor and our goal is one. Development projects,” said the octogenarian politician.
Both Ugenya’s David Ochieng and Ugunja’s Wandayi have been mentioned as possible rivals of Governor Orengo in the 2027 gubernatorial race. In light of the new developments, the two will be struggling to steal the limelight from the Governor with sponsored social media sideshows.
As the county Boss, however, it’s James Aggrey Bob Orengo who will be carrying the mantle of the people of Siaya in the breakfast invite scheduled at State House Nairobi on Thursday this week.
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