This archive report was first published on 5 November 2019.
On November 5, 2019, Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Governors, Mwangi wa Iria, welcomed a delegation of Nigerian governors in Murang'a, where he noted that Kenya could learn from Nigeria's successful devolution system.
Devolution in Kenya has faced numerous challenges since its introduction seven years ago, and Iria suggested that benchmarking from Nigeria could help address these issues. He also stated that county assemblies could learn from Nigeria on how to effectively legislate laws to support county governments.
During the visit, the Nigerian delegation, led by Executive Governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong, toured the Murang'a County cooperative creameries to learn about milk processing. Lalong observed that Nigeria could learn from Kenya's diversification of the economy, particularly in agriculture and tourism.
Kenya has made significant investments in dairy farming, and the milk processing plant in Murang'a has created hundreds of jobs for young people. Lalong praised the county government for its efforts and expressed interest in adopting Kenya's 'one-home-one-cow' program, which aims to empower local families with an economic activity to support their livelihood.
The visit marked the beginning of a benchmarking tour, where the Nigerian delegation will visit other counties to learn more about the Kenyan devolution system. In return, Murang'a County government is expected to visit Nigeria in January to share best practices.
