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Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja has announced an end to the collection of signatures meant to pursue dissolution of the county government, just a day after MCAs expressed willingness to dialogue with him.

Addressing the media at the county headquarters in Wundanyi yesterday, Samboja said 52,100 signatures were collected surpassing the constitutional threshold of 18,000.

“The 52,000 signatures represent a population that says we cannot negotiate on service delivery, we cannot cut corners on development and implement projects with their taxes without involving them,” he said.

“We must involve them,” he added.

In an unexpected retreat, Speaker Meshack Maghanga on Monday said time had come for the Assembly and the Executive to end the impasse to move the county forward.

However, the governor has maintained that there will be no going back in the resolve to dissolve the county government.

He said he will soon start mobilisation of willing citizens to accompany him for presentation of the petition in Nairobi.

“The county is in an election mode and I am ready for it. If the people deem it fit for me to go home, it’s well and good. I will go home a happy person having salvaged the county from this crisis,” said Samboja. “We will leave the rest to President Uhuru Kenyatta.”