Former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita has rubbished reports that he has pulled out of the Machakos gubernatorial race.

In a statement on Sunday, Waita insisted that he is firmly in the race to succeed Governor Alfred Mutua.

He noted that the report aired on NTV that he could deputise former Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju were the works of his competitors who had been cowed by polls showing that he is leading. 

"It appears that my opponents are in a full panic mode having seen the latest Machakos Gubernatorial race polls for themselves and how their candidate’s lead has been decimated by a first-timer," Waita said in a tweet.

Reports indicated that the two have been proposed by leaders allied to the Azimio la Umoja coalition.

Speaking in February when he officially announced his bid for the county's top job, Waita said that his plan was to serve the people of Machakos, as he outlined his larger dream of making the county a metropolis for Nairobi.

"Machakos, Kiambu, Murang’a and Kajiado counties are within the Nairobi ecosystem. I want to make sure the county of Machakos benefits from the growth of the Nairobi metropolitan and the metropolitan infrastructure," he said on Citizen TV.

"Nairobi can only expand in the direction of Machakos and when the expressway is done Machakos’s role as the bedroom of the city will be reinforced."

Waita said he aspires to create wealth for the county and use the revenue from Nairobi to develop infrastructure in the other areas where it is needed.

He insisted that he will make Machakos a city in five years if elected governor. 

He will battle out with Wavinya Ndeti (Wiper Party), Johnson Muthama (UDA), among others for the seat. By Brian Aruta, The Star