{"id":636,"date":"2026-02-07T10:22:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=636"},"modified":"2026-02-07T10:27:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:27:50","slug":"cog-chair-slams-wasteful-national-agencies-sparks-backlash-from-kenyans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/?p=636","title":{"rendered":"COG Chair Slams \u201cWasteful\u201d National Agencies, Sparks Backlash from Kenyans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"597\" height=\"273\" data-id=\"637\" src=\"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001643096.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001643096.jpg 597w, https:\/\/livenation254.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1001643096-300x137.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wajir Governor and Council of Governors (COG) Chair Ahmed Abdullahi has stirred controversy after criticizing the proliferation of national government agencies in Kenya, claiming they drain resources that should instead serve counties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to local media, Abdullahi said, \u201cThere are a lot of resources being expended in our counties by all manner of peripheral national government agencies that should have been dissolved with the advent of devolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll find an agency in one of my constituencies spending more on water than the entire budget that I have for water for the whole county. It is not fair.\u201dHis remarks triggered a strong reaction from Kenyans on social media, with critics accusing him of hypocrisy. Comments ranged from sarcastic calls to invest in real estate to anger at perceived county mismanagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <strong><em>One user wrote, \u201cYou\u2019d have used the money to buy apartments. You\u2019re complaining that an agency is spending on water! That money should be under you! Yaani they get more than others and waste it all and still have the guts to complain that it\u2019s not enough.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201dThis debate follows former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua\u2019s earlier criticisms of North Eastern counties, alleging that funds meant for development were being misused on urban projects like apartment construction in Nairobi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The comments highlight ongoing tensions between county governments and national agencies over budget allocations and resource management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Governor Abdullahi\u2019s statement has reignited discussions on the balance of power in Kenya\u2019s devolved system, accountability for national agencies, and whether devolution has truly empowered counties as intended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wajir Governor and Council of Governors (COG) Chair Ahmed Abdullahi has stirred controversy after criticizing the proliferation of national government agencies in Kenya, claiming they&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":638,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livenation254.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}