President Uhuru pleased with Kidero's move as Sonko takes over Nairobi

President Uhuru Kenyatta has lauded former Nairobi governor Evans Kidero for putting up a democratic spirit as he handed over his command to the new governor Mike Sonko at Uhuru Park on Monday.

Dr Kidero during the inauguration ceremony for Mike Sonko said he was not shying away from addressing the former senator as governor as he had now recognized him as the capital’s boss.

“He (Kidero) has proved that he loves his nation. They were in competition and he has admitted that Mike Sonko won and moved to hand him leadership,” said Uhuru.

He added that the move by Dr Kidero was a significant sign and wished him well on his future plans.

The president gave the new governor an assurance that the national government shall be committed to support the county government’s plans to ensure their plans to have a better city expressing confidence in Sonko’s ability to deliver.

He asked the city residents to live in harmony and shun ethnic differences.

Dr Kidero congratulated Governor Sonko but urged him to be wary of challenges on his way as he seeks to serve the city as he gave an assurance of his support for smooth transition.

“The biggest challenge facing the vision we set of the county is adequate funding as the revenue allocation formula did not take into account the unique nature services and corresponding financial requirements. This is something I passionately fought for and I hope you will take over this fight,” said Kidero.

He warned that if this challenge is not tackled, they will still face tremendous challenges and they might not deliver as expected of them.

He urged his successor to ensure the huge debt burden he carried is settled with the help of the national government as the only way out.