By joshua 
Kogi West APC Senatorial Primary Election another June 12 in the making?
The Kogi West people, of the olden days, were well cultured, well behaved, well mannered, and their integrity could be vouched for. But can same be said about the people of today? Such positive glowing tributes cannot be said about them today, as they have lost those values, norms, ethics and decorum. They are eroded or at best thrown to the winds.
Have the wise words of our elders lost their value and reverence in society? Once regarded as custodians of wisdom, respected for their age, experience and grey hair, elders now appear to command far less honour and influence.
Today, communities are witnessing a troubling decline in trust, unity and mutual understanding, as neighbours grow distant and people struggle to predict the actions of even those closest to them. The strong sense of cohesion, brotherhood and shared values that once defined society seems to be gradually fading away.
Ostensibly, things have fallen apart, rogues, men of easy virtue now dictate the pace, they hold the aces and determine the well-being of the people. No wonder, things are in disarray today.
The question that begs for answers today is who is in charge of Kogi West politiics and what qualifies such person to earn such enviable position. What has been their contributions towards the development of district?
The Kogi West Senatorial District is delineated into SEVEN Local Government Areas and further into three Federal constituencies consisting of Lokoja/Kogi, Bunu/Ijumu /Kabba and Yagba Federal Constituencies.
A brief chronological record shows that people from these various Local Government Areas had in the past been elected into the Senate. In 1979, late Senator Justus Olu from Yagba West LGA while in 1983 Senator Joe Funsho Obasaju from Kabba/Bunu LGA was also elected.
Though shortly after the election of Senator Joe Funsho Obasaju, the military took over power and his tenure was shortlived. 1992 Senator (Chief) Sunday Bolorunduro Awoniyi was thereafter elected into the Senate. He suffered the same fate as his predecessor whose tenure was equally terminated by the military coup.
There was another attempt to democratize and Senator Ado Shaibu from Koton-Karfe LGA was elected in 1996, even though his group was never inaugurated due to another coup d’etat.
The current democratic rejuvenation brought in Senator Tunde Ogbeha in 1999, and re-elected in 2003. By the foregoing records, it is ordinarily reasonable for the people from these areas where they have in the past produced Senators to allow areas where they had never produced a Senator in the past feed in their candidate for the position.
The Kogi West Senate seat in 2007 was won by Smart Adeyemi from Ijumu Local Government Area, who represented the district in the Senate from 2007 to 2015.
In 2015, Adeyemi again contested for the senatorial seat but lost to Dino Melaye, also from Ijumu Local Government Area, further extending Ijumu’s hold on the position.
The rivalry resurfaced during the 2019 general election, as both Adeyemi and Melaye squared off once again for the Kogi West Senate seat. Although Melaye was initially declared winner, the outcome was challenged at the Election Petition Tribunal and later at the Court of Appeal. The legal battle eventually led to a rerun in some polling units, after which Smart Adeyemi emerged victorious and reclaimed the seat.
Distinguished people of Kogi West, these political developments mean that Ijumu Local Government Area has cumulatively occupied the Kogi West Senate seat for sixteen years.
Senator Sunday Karimi won his election to the Senate in 2023 and his performance so far has surpassed those who served before him in the district.
Let us give a brief history of how it has been on the basis of Federal Constituency since the time immemorial.
In 1979 late Senator Justus Olu from Yagba Federal Constituency and in 1983 Senator Joe Funsho Obasaju from Bunu/ Ijumu/Kabba Federal Constituency was also elected.
In 1992- 1993 we had Senator S B Awoniyi from Yagba Federal Constituency, while in 1999 – 2007 Senator Tunde Ogbeha from Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency was in the Senate for two tenures.
Thereafter, Senator Smart Adeyemi, from Bunu/Ijumu/Kabba Federal Constituency, was elected into the Senate in 2007 – 2015.
In 2015 – 2019, Senator Dino Melaye was equally in the Senate from Bunu/Ijumu/Kabba Federal Constituency. He was replaced by Senator Smart Adeyemi between 2019 – 2023 for yet another term in the Senate.
The current Senator, Sunday Steve Karimi is from Yagba Federal Constituency, he was elected in 2023 serving his first tenure in the Senate.
The political gladiators have chosen to overheat the polity of Kogi West, an indication that we have lost our tradition, we have lost our conventions, we have lost our bearing, we have lost our values, and we have lost our integrity. What are we living for today? When a man has lost his integrity, what is worth living for again?
They make life so terrifying, as their actions are largely unacceptable to their people.
As the 2027 general elections approaches, we have several contenders who have expressed their interest in the Kogi West Senatorial seat. It is therefore important to recognize that legislative representation is ultimately shaped by capacity, competence, and the level of acceptance a candidate enjoys among the people as it is supposed to be.
Recently, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Primary, we had about five aspirants in their lineup from the incumbent Distinguished Senator Sunday Steve Karimi to former Senator Smart Adeyemi.
Others who also jostled for the seat included Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro, Elizabeth Adedoyin,
Alhaji Tajudeen Bisimillahi and Ustaz Zakari Abubakar Ola.
The battle for the Kogi West Senatorial seat within the ruling All Progressives Congress was fiercely contested, with intense campaigns, high-level consultations and strategic political manoeuvring dominating the scene. Key political actors deployed different tactics and alliances in a bid to outwit one another and secure the party’s ticket, turning the contest into a heated struggle for political supremacy.
As the fierce battle for the Kogi West Senatorial seat within the ruling All Progressives Congress intensified, a dangerous storm of division began to gather from within. Beneath the surface of consultations, alliances and political calculations, disaffection was steadily brewing among political actors, their supporters and influential godfathers, many driven more by personal ambition than collective progress.
In the desperate struggle for dominance, various camps deployed calculated strategies aimed at undermining opponents, sowing seeds of discord among leaders, communities and loyal party faithful, further deepening tensions across the district.
Amid rising political tension, several press briefings and statements were issued as consultations intensified across the district. Delegates also embarked on a series of strategic visits ahead of a crucial meeting convened in May 2026 by Ahmed Usman Ododo, the Executive Governor of Kogi State.
The gathering brought together all aspirants, their supporters and loyalists in a bid to reconcile aggrieved political gladiators, ease mounting divisions and chart a united path forward for the party and the district..
Subsequently, the various actors and aspirants were reconciled and a new position was generally taken by the contestants who all pledged their support for the incumbent senator in person of Senator Sunday Steve Karimi.
The only aspirant who did not announce his withdrawal from the race was Ustaz Zakari Abubakar Ola Lokoja from Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency hence was believed to still be in the contest.
Before the APC Senatorial party primary that was held on 18th May, 2026 all the aspirants had formally announced their withdrawal from the race, pledging their support for the incumbent Senator Sunday Steve Karimi including Hon Samuel Bamidele Aro.
Following the APC Senate primary election the Returning Officer, Hon Haruna Isa went ahead to declare the result as follows:
Senator Sunday Karimi 51,665,
Hon. Samuel Bamidele Aro 620,
Senator Smart Adeyemi 571,
Alh. Tajudeen Bisimillahi 18,
Ustaz Zakari Abubakar Ola 414 and Elizabeth Adedoyin 18 votes.
The total votes cast was put at 53,306, while the APC membership registration is 58,433 according to Hon Haruna Isa the Returning Officer of the primary.
Another question still begging for answer is that when a candidate withdrawals from a contest will he or she still have an agent at the election?
Secondly, how do they come about their votes when they were no longer in the contest?
With the controversy that followed the Kogi West Senatorial primary election held on 18th May, 2026, it is important for all political actors and their supporters to understand that campaigns end once an election is concluded. At that stage, the focus should shift from political contestation to reconciliation, party unity and collective progress. No campaign after election!
Senator Sunday Karimi won that primary squarely. He remains the valid candidate. Is the avoidable controversy surrounding the Kogi West Senatorial primary another June 12 in the making? All the desperate, revisionist press conferences in the world cannot alter that reality.
This battle is already won because the evidence is irrefutable, and justice does not sleep. However, political confidence does not erase moral embarrassment.
Until those who betrayed their oaths, their kinsmen, and their own recorded words are held accountable, the stain of this episode will continue to linger in the Kogi West polity.
A word is enough for the Wise