They said Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi could not win an election. Others have gone further, attempting to claim ownership of a mandate they did not secure, suggesting that his position today is the product of their personal influence.
But in Kogi West, the people are answering those claims the only way that matters: through the record.
As Chairman, Senate Committee on Services, Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi (DSSK) has demonstrated that effective representation is measured not by political rhetoric, but by tangible results. Through sustained legislative advocacy, he has facilitated billions of naira in federal funding for critical road infrastructure across Kogi West, with contractors now on site and construction work underway.
His commitment to infrastructure did not begin with his assumption of office. Before becoming Senator, Sunday Karimi personally funded temporary interventions on critical routes, including the Kabba-Ilorin and Bunu-Iluke-Budon roads. He subsequently leveraged his position and legislative influence to pursue lasting federal solutions for these long-neglected corridors.
His intervention in education has been equally significant. Through a ₦100 million scholarship initiative, he has provided financial support to students across tertiary institutions in the three senatorial districts of Kogi State, extending his educational interventions beyond the boundaries of Kogi West.
On security, Karimi went beyond conventional representation by personally supporting the construction and furnishing of a military Forward Operating Base along the Kogi-Kwara border, strengthening efforts to confront kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery in vulnerable communities. His commitment to security also earned him national recognition as Nigeria’s Most Security Conscious Senator at the Democracy Newsline Newspaper Awards.
Recognising that the future of Kogi’s young people depends not only on security but also on opportunity, he established a modern ICT and Vocational Training Centre designed to equip young people with relevant digital and vocational skills and create pathways to economic independence.
Across communities, the impact extends further. Solar-powered boreholes have brought access to clean water to communities that had endured years of neglect, while bursary interventions have supported thousands of students across Kogi West, Kogi Central and Kogi East.
This is what representation looks like when it is translated from promises into measurable interventions.
No political godfather can take credit for roads currently being constructed. No individual can claim personal ownership of a military facility established in the interest of public security. No political sponsor can rewrite the record of scholarships and educational interventions reaching students across Kogi State.
The mandate is equally clear.
Sunday Karimi did not receive the confidence of the people because someone handed him an electoral victory. He earned the opportunity to serve through the votes of the people who made their choice at the ballot box.
Those who insist that Karimi cannot win again, and those who attempt to portray his previous victory as a personal gift to him, may be underestimating the most important factor in any democratic contest: the people.
The people of Kogi West are not merely listening to political narratives. They are observing roads under construction, security interventions, educational support, skills development and community infrastructure.
Ultimately, elections are not won by the loudest claims of ownership. They are won by public confidence, organisational strength, credibility and the ability to demonstrate a record that voters can see, feel and defend.
For Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, the record is already speaking.
And when the record speaks, political noise becomes considerably less important.
– Ahmad Yusuf
For: Kogi APC Conscience Group
