Wajir Senator Abdullahi Ali, alias Kabreta, has asked his Ajuran community to help him succeed Governor Ahmed Ali Muktar.

Ali (right) joins a growing number of his colleagues who will be fighting for governorship.

Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, for instance, is among at least 20 members of the Upper House who have declared their interest in governorship posts in various counties.

The senator, who launched his bid at Sir Ali Muslim Club, Parklands, Nairobi, claimed that residents of Wajir North constituency, the majority of whom are from his Ajuran sub-clan, had piled pressure on him to vie for the governor seat.

“If there was any benefit of occupying the senatorial seat, I would not leave it for now; but because it is a useless seat, I want to go for governorship,” said the medic.

An informal agreement drafted in the run-up to the 2013 and 2017  elections says the dominant Degodia community should take the post of governor, while the posts of senator and deputy governor should be shared by Ogaden and Ajuran clans.Up for grabs

The Woman Representative post, being an affirmative one, should be up for grabs among the three communities, the agreement states.

Degodia are the single largest voting bloc, followed by Ogaden and Ajuran in second and third position.

On January 16, the Ajuran sub-clan, through its supreme organ  Ajuran National Council (ANC), in concurrence with the Ajuran Council of Elders (ACE), resolved that the community would settle for the county senator and Woman Representative positions.

Senator Ali, who will vie on a United Democratic Alliance (UDM ticket), said he is “more than qualified to be governor”, adding that his political file is clean.

“Having served as Wajir North MP for 10 years, Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) commissioner for five years, and Senator for five years, I have the necessary experience and know-how to run the county,” he said.

If endorsed by the clan, Kabreta will face off with ex-governor Ahmed Abdullahi, who is seeking a comeback on Raila Odinga’s ODM; and Dr Hassan Mohamed, the flagbearer of the Fai community, who will be trying his luck on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party.

Others are Ugas Sheikh Mohamed of PNU and incumbent Governor Ahmed Ali Muktar of Kanu.

But the senator said the elders erred in their decision, adding that time is ripe for the Ajuran community to take the top position at the county level.

According to him, Ajuran elders did not conduct public participation forums and opinion polls, neither did they involve Wajir North residents and its political leadership, before making the decision on the seats to back.

“We were merely told the elders had decided they would settle for Senator and Woman Rep positions,” he noted.

He termed the elders’ verdict as unrealistic, saying the community should go for the gubernatorial seat.

“Why is my clan showing cowardice by not going for the governor seat. When you go into an election, you either win or lose; there are no two ways about it. I will vie for the governor seat. If I don’t get it, someone else from my community will one day get it,” he noted.

“My Ajuran Community wants me to contest for governorship; I don’t know why some people want us to settle for Senate seat, which has no benefit to my people,” he said, adding that residents want jobs, education, food, shelter, health and roads, which can only be realised when a member of the Ajuran community is elected governor.

According to the elders, the resolution was a result of many engagement forums, including political leaders, opinion leaders, and professionals.