Garissa County Assembly majority leader ousted for the third time

Cord members of the Garissa County Assembly Monday evening ousted their majority leader in a vote of no confidence.

This is the third time a majority leader has been replaced over alleged incompetence and failure to defend the party interests in the House.

The Cord members dislodged Mr Ibrahim Abdi Ali from his position on claims that he has been a chronic absentee from House sittings during crucial debates and failing to meet the coalition‘s agenda in the assembly.

Speaking to journalists outside the assembly shortly after the ouster Motion, the Cord members said Mr Ali has shown incompetence in rallying the coalition’s county assembly representatives during crucial Motions and debates giving leeway to minority parties in the House to frustrate the executive from performing its work.

“The majority leader has shown incompetence on the floor of the House and has always been absent during crucial debates which has given the minority Jubilee members powers to frustrate the performance and development agendas by the Garissa County government,” said Mr Yussuf Dadle, the Waberi Ward representative.

NEW MAJORITY LEADER

Dadaab Ward MCA Mohamed Abdi Farah was elected as the new majority leader after he garnered 15 votes against his closest competitor Sankuri Ward representative Abdiwahab Suleiman who got only two votes.

The ousted majority leader, however, dismissed his removal as illegal noting that the plan to discuss his performance or conduct by his colleagues was not officially communicated to all coalition members.

He claimed that, contrary to the party’s constitution and House rules, he was not given a fair hearing by his colleagues who illegally ganged up to replace him adding that the agenda to remove him was never communicated to the all party members or discussed before Monday evening when he was removed from the coveted post.

REMOVAL ILLEGAL

“My removal is illegal as far as I am concerned because there was hardly any communication regarding my removal or election of a new majority leader.

“I will challenge my removal through the party procedures,” he told the journalists during a media briefing.

Mr Ali further claimed there was no quorum during the debate to remove him since less than a half of the members took part in the election of the new majority leader.

Mr Farah, who was the party s’ chief whip, was also replaced with the Baraki Ward representative Mohamed Hassan Sahal.

However, sources within the county assembly intimated that the removal of the embattled majority leader, who is presumed to be a close associate of Governor Nathif Jama, is aimed at making it easier to impeach the Finance executive member Abdihakim Dayib, whose impeachment motion was stopped by the Garissa High court last week.

“The members have seen an obstacle in the majority leader when the impeachment motion of the Finance executive came to the floor of the House.

“The new majority leader has been critical of Governor Jama‘s administration and this is clear way of telling him (governor) that he has lost support in the assembly,” an MCA who decline to be identified for fear of reprisals from his colleagues told the Nation Tuesday.