Ugenya Member of Parliament David Ochieng has become the first lawmaker from the Nyanza region to openly oppose calls for a referendum, led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
This comes at a time when almost all MPs from the region, majority of whom are allied to Raila, have endorsed the push which seeks to among others, expand the executive.
But Ochieng, who won in a by-election through the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG), now says that the push for inclusion of a Prime Minister's slot can't work.
He told the Sunday Standard that with the region having a few Members of Parliament, it will be hard for it to get anything if the decision is to be made through the Parliament.
He termed it foolhardy for area leaders to blindly back a push that will harm their own people.
"For us in Nyanza, a prime minister’s position will be disadvantageous. We have a few MPs and this could greatly affect any of the region’s candidates when that times comes,” he said.
This comes at a time when the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce tasked to crisscross the nation in pursuit of solutions to the nation's problems is nearing handing over its report.
The taskforce's joint secretary Paul Mwangi said the report will be handed to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila, who jointly formed the team after their 2018 truce, soon.
“We are doing all we can to present the report on or before our deadline,” he said.