Nairobi News

Hustle

Sonko: I didn’t touch Sh96 million ‘confidential budget’ – VIDEO


A furious Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko on Tuesday assured that the Sh96 million ‘confidential budget’ allocated to him is still intact.

Sonko said  he had to clear the air after disclosures of the confidential budget were made by the Auditor General Edward Ouko.

“You cannot expose me in media and then  expect me not to defend myself yet you are the ones who allocated the budget to me and I’m known to fight corruption,” said Mr Sonko.

He added that he will not allow his name be put in the same category as corrupt people.

He made the remarks during the launch of Sh400m Nairobi City County bursary fund for needy students.

The disclosures of Sonko’s confidential budget arose during a sitting of a County Assembly oversight committee where it emerged he has been getting Sh96 million annually since he came into office in 2017.

EXPLAIN EXPENDITURE

Officers from the governor’s office could not explain the expenditure inside the ‘confidential budget’ when they appeared before City Hall’s Legal and Justice Committee.

Mr Dominic Odera, an administration officer in Mr Sonko’s office, failed to provide approval letters for the multi-million shilling secret budget.

Sonko in his defence wondered how the committee members claimed not to know about the money yet they had approved it in the budget.

“It is true that when we got a statement from treasury on Monday, the money was there and I have not touched even a single cent,” added the governor.

In July 2018, Sonko’s secret account received Sh4 million, with a revised amount of Sh46 million being topped up through a supplementary budget and then the Nairobi County Assembly approved estimates amounting to Sh50 million leaving the account full with Sh96 million.

“When I saw the money was confidential I did not touch anything and the reality is that this money has not been touch.”