A pro-Tinubu mobilisation group in Kogi State on Sunday moved to contain a political storm over remarks by Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, saying critics had twisted his comments on fuel subsidy savings into an attack on the state government.
The Win With Tinubu (WWT) programme, which is campaigning for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and for other All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in Kogi, said the senator was misrepresented by “mischief makers.”
Karimi, who represents Kogi West in the Senate, spoke on Oct. 15 at a town hall meeting for the Dekina/Bassa Federal Constituency at M&G Hotel in Anyigba. It was the sixth meeting in the group’s series.
WWT State Programme Coordinator Sani Philips said in a statement that Karimi was answering a question from the audience about what the federal government is doing with the savings from the removal of the petroleum subsidy.
According to Philips, Karimi explained that a substantial portion of the extra funds was being shared through statutory allocations to the 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The group said Karimi also told residents of Kogi to stop blaming the federal government for poverty and to hold the state government accountable for making its allocations improve living standards at the grassroots.
The statement did not say who had criticised the senator or how his remarks had been characterised. It did not quote the senator directly.
“Any interpretation suggesting otherwise is a deliberate departure from the context and substance of his remarks,” the statement said, rejecting claims that Karimi had accused the state government or urged citizens to rise against it.
The group said the senator had not delivered a verdict on any state government’s performance. It said he had set out “the broader national framework of revenue allocation” and the economic case for federal reforms.
Philips said the senator’s point was that higher allocations should show up as better roads, functional schools, accessible healthcare, improved security, timely payment of salaries and pensions, agricultural development and more economic opportunities.
The group called the controversy “manufactured” and urged party members, journalists and the public to judge the remarks “in their proper context” rather than rely on selective quotations. It asked those circulating what it called misleading interpretations to stop, and told its supporters to stay calm and avoid confrontation.
WWT said the Dekina/Bassa meeting was convened to strengthen grassroots engagement, promote party unity, explain the Tinubu administration’s policies and rally support for the president’s second-term bid.
