A new pressure group, Team Kogi West (TKW), has declared total support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Senator Sunday Karimi, who represents Kogi West. It says it will build its own network of grassroots mobilisers across the district, cutting across party lines.
The group, made up of politicians, professionals and associates from all walks of life, said it would pool resources to set up mobilisation teams in all seven local government areas of Kogi West Senatorial District. It stressed that the structure would be fully operated and funded by TKW, independent of Senator Karimi and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement came at two stakeholders’ engagements on Friday and Saturday, in Odo-Ere, headquarters of Yagba West Local Government, and in Egbe. The Odo-Ere meeting was held at Fantasy Hotel, and the Egbe meeting at the private residence of a member at Bareke. At each, five representatives from each of 14 electoral wards were engaged: seven wards from the Area Council and seven from Egbe (Town Council).
The group is led by a former member of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Hon. (Barr.) Toyin Lawal. He said its mission was not designed to conflict with the campaign structures of the Senator or the APC. Its aim, he said, was proper coordination and keeping the group on top of its activities ahead of the January 16 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
With Yagba West as the pilot scheme, Lawal disclosed that TKW plans to engage five representatives from each of the 85 electoral wards in Kogi West, both to connect with the grassroots and to get feedback.
Kogi West covers Koton-Karfe, Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Mopamuro, Yagba East and Yagba West Local Government Areas. These make up the Lokoja/Koton-Karfe, Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu and Yagba federal constituencies. It is arguably the state’s most populous senatorial zone, home to the capital, Lokoja, and to institutions including the Federal University Lokoja, Kogi State Polytechnic and several military detachments.
Speakers at both meetings commended Senator Karimi’s performance in his current term. They also pointed to communities, especially in the Area Council, where his impact has not been fully felt. Some urged him to follow other lawmakers who have empowered constituents with vehicles, cash and more support for cooperative societies, especially for men.
They also stressed the need to acknowledge grassroots workers, who bear the primary burden of campaign efforts. They condemned the tendency to sideline local workers after an election in favour of urban elites.
In response, members of the group said the Senator’s empowerment programmes, such as annual bursaries for 100 indigenous students, were designed to cut across all communities in the 85 wards. They also cited the distribution of transformers, solar streetlights, and solar-powered and industrial boreholes. These, they said, were meant to boost power supply, keep communities out of darkness and ensure access to clean water.
The group admitted the Senator could not reach every community at once. It said it had noted the concerns raised and would ensure no community in the Area Council is left untouched.
TKW disclosed that Senator Karimi will soon launch a mega empowerment programme. It said the delay was necessary to ensure proper planning and fair distribution of items across the district, without resentment.
Lawal dismissed suggestions that the programme was an afterthought prompted by the approaching elections.
“It is not true that the empowerment is coming because of the election,” he said. “Actually, you know we have a peculiar problem in Kogi West. Simply put, we don’t have roads. Our road from Kabba to Ilorin is only a road in name.”
He said the Senator’s focus had been on that road, citing construction works from Ejiba to Isanlu so that it can be motorable for farmers, traders and transporters. He added that the Senator would also embark on “the type of empowerment people are expecting,” and that “that one is coming very soon.”
Other members present included Lagos-based Senior Chartered Accountants Elder Sunday Ajayi, a one-time Caretaker Chairman of Yagba West Council, and Mr. Oludare Abolaji. APC chieftain Chief Sunday Aremu, the Agbana of Opada-Egbeland, and Pastor Ibitayo Asalu were also there. Asalu is a member of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP) and a clergyman based in Port Harcourt.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Lawal said the scope of TKW goes beyond Yagba West to the whole district. He said the five people seen at the meetings represent the group’s face for now, while other members contribute financially. He described the group’s purpose as the re-election of President Tinubu and Senator Karimi.
“What we want actually is to connect with the people in terms of hearing the truth from them,” he said. “We don’t want to have intermediaries between us and the people.” He added that the group had received “very good feedback.”
