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The National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was established by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 for the purpose of making laws and performing oversight over the Executive.
It is therefore the duty of a responsible Legislator to Sponsor Bills and Motions on the Floor of the National Assembly in a bid to protect and promote the interest of the citizenry, develop the Nation and ensure peace and good governance.
Hon. Karimi Sunday Steve was elected first in May 2011. Because of his dedication to duty, patriotism and hard work, he was favoured by the electorate who re-elected him to serve as a member in the House of Representatives for another term between May 2015 till June 2019.
Since 2011, Hon. Sunday Karimi has been sponsoring Bills and Motions, facilitating projects to the constituency, distributing empowerment materials, assisting constituents financially and also using his office to foster the interest of Yagba and even the entire people of Kogi State in the spirit of patriotism, desire to contribute to good governance and development of the people.
It is imperative to note that in November 2013, Hon. Karimi launched the Yagba People Empowerment Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation with distinguished sons and daughters of Yagba as its Trustees and he personally donated N 34,000,000.00 to the initiative for the purpose of disbursement as revolving soft loans to owners of micro and small businesses in Yagba.
Karimi, though not a noisemaker, has been affecting the lives of his Constituents in no small measures.
Between 2011 and 2015, in his first term in the green chamber, Karimi sponsored fourteen Bills and moved twenty one Motion. In the current term, from 2015 till date, he has sponsored eleven Bill and moved twenty four Motions!
Hon. Karimi has executed verifiable projects in all communities in Yagba Federal constituency. These projects ranges from construction of classrooms, supply of transformers, distribution of 15 solar-powered boreholes with 10,000 litres UPVC Tanks on 6 metres tower in communities across Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopa/Amuro Local Governmenst in Yagba Federal Constituency, Kogi State.
He also facilitated of a ICT School Knowledge Centre under the Universal Service Provision Fund School Knowledge Centre Initiative of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under through the House of Representatives Committee on Communications. The School Knowledge Centre is to be established at Comprehensive College, Egbe, Yagba West Local Government, Kogi State.
Hon. Karimi has empowered women and youths in his illustrious seven years in the House of Representatives.
To mention a few, in October 2016, Hon. Karimi distributed 120 motorcycles, 20 tricycles, 40 sewing machines, 40 grinding machines, 10 generators, 2 block moulding engines to constituents. He shared and distributed drugs, insecticides, clothing materials and mosquito nets to women in the Constituency.
Regardless of the forgoing, my attention has been drawn to a Publication in the social media by one Timilehin Ologun who is acting under the instructions of his paymaster, Senator Dino Melaye. The said publication is baseless and deserves no response at all. However, in a bid to educate the author and his principal, as well as to clear any possible misconceptions that might arise as a result of such mischievous publications, I will take pains to respond briefly.
A cursory look at the Bills, Motions and Empowerment Initiatives and Activities of Hon. Karimi as stated above, will show a passionate desire by a Patriot and Statesman to contribute his quota to the development of Yagbaland, Okunland, Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State and the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a whole. These Legislative instruments are not borne out of a desire to blackmail some members of the Executive nor are they meant for Personal Profiting.
It is no longer news that a particular Legislator whose name I would not mention out of abundance of caution, feeds on proceeds from Blackmail and Intimidation of Members of the Public. I will leave that to his conscience to judge.
As a Yagbaman, I make bold to say, that there is no single Ward or Community in Yagba Land that has not benefited from the good representation of Hon. Karimi. Therefore, Hon. Karimi cannot concern himself with bringing down or disparaging the reputation of any politician at all, not alone that of Senator Dino Melaye who is facing several criminal charges including that of Gun Running in Kogi State and in the F.C.T, Abuja.
What baffles a Young Okun man like me is the role Senator Dino Melaye played in scuttling the one singular opportunity that an Okun Man has ever had in becoming the Executive Governor of Kogi State. One will recall that after the Gubernatorial Election of 21st November 2015, just before announcement of the Polls, the APC Flagbearer, Alhaji Abubakar Audu gave up the ghost and one of the first persons to be contacted was Senator Dino Melaye, who promptly mobilized the APC National Leadership and the North to rob Chief James Faleke (his running mate) and indeed Okunland, the chance of stepping into the shoes of the deceased Audu, all in a desperate bid to ensure that no Ijumu man rises above him in the political configurations of Kogi State.
It was the believe of Senator Dino Melaye that once Governor Yahaya Bello is sworn in as Governor, they would both share the commonwealth of our State in their private dens. Little wonder, at the inauguration of Yahaya Bello as Governor, Senator Dino as the Master of Ceremony of the occasion, declared that people voted for Audu, but God voted for Yahaya Bello and that anybody fighting Yahaya Bello was fighting God. He went ahead to make several disparaging statements about the Peoples Democratic Party, whose ticket he now desperately desires under the most undemocratic circumstances. This leaves me to wonder whether the Distinguished Senator has any iota of conscience left in him.
Rather than accusing Hon. Karimi of playing crude politics, Senator Dino should remove the wood in his eyes.
For a short period of time, Senator Dino wined and dined with his ”divinely appointed Governor ”in Kogi State, but when the battle for the sharing of State Commonwealth became too intense, they parted ways and the great war which is still ranging till date commenced.
Hon. Karimi, being the voice of the Voiceless and the Voice of the opposition, stood up against all forms of misrule in Kogi State. First, it was the Motion on Non-Payment and Non-Utilization of the 20Billion Naira Salary Bail-Out Funds and the 10Billion Naira infrastructure Bail-Out Funds loaned the State Government by the Federal Government.
The Honourable Member in response to the cry of the people of Kogi State over non-payment of Salaries regardless of Bail Out releases by Federal Government, prayed the CBN to investigate the utilization of Bail-out Funds by the Kogi State Government and report back to the House of Representatives.
A similar Motion was attempted on the Floor of the Senate, but was reportedly scuttled by Senator Dino Melaye, majorly because of his close affiliation to Governor Bello.
Months later, Hon. Karimi moved the Motion for the National Assembly(House of Representatives) to take over Legislative duties in Kogi State due to the tyranny and arbitrariness of the Governor of the State. These are acts of a bold and courageous Legislator.
Even when Senator Dino Melaye had fallen out of favour with Yahaya Bello, and the latter was using the instrumentality of the State to oppress him, it was the same Honourable Karimi that he is now disparaging that voiced against his oppression both on the Floor of the House of Representatives and on several television broadcasting stations.
It is noteworthy that no single Federal Legislator from Kogi State stood up for Dino. This Karimi did, out of principle, love to fight injustice and the plight of the downtrodden and his commitment to the Okun race.
It is unfortunate, that because of Party Politics, Senator Dino Melaye would reward his big brother with such treacherous outbursts. I am however quick to recover from my surprise, when I remember the ill-treatment of James Faleke by Dino Melaye. May Karimi not be his next victim.
The crux of my treatise as above stated is that politics should not be played out of desperation and share blackmail. Okun people are not known for these vices. We deserve a Better representation at the Red Chamber.
If Senator Dino Melaye is confident of himself and his ”rising political profile” he should be bold enough to submit himself to Direct or Indirect Primary Elections in the quest to obtain the Nomination of the Party he so much disparaged in 2014.
On the issue of the relationship between Senator Smart Adeyemi and Hon. Karimi, it takes only wisdom and the fear of God to know that we all should mourn with those who are mourning and should rejoice with those who are rejoicing. It is not a crime, if Hon. Karimi mourns and condoles with his Okun brother, regardless of political differences or affiliation. All the allegations of political synergy between Hon. Karimi and Senator Smart Adeyemi are a ruse and a figment of the imagination of the author of that ungodly publication.
Above all, the interest of the people of Kogi West Senatorial District should always prevail over the interest of any single person.
Kogi West deserves the best, the best can only arise out of a free and fair Primary Election. Only the unpopular are scared of a keenly contested democratic Primary Election.
– Ekundayo Makanjuola writes from Lokoja.
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