By joshua WHY SUNDAY KARIMI HAS ALL IT TAKES TO WIN KOGI WEST SEAMLESSLY
.. His Work on ground, APC dominance, grassroots love, an election without suspense
Ignore the noise from mischief makers. In Kogi West, the conversation on the streets, in markets, and on campuses is not about “if” Senator Sunday Karimi will win in 2027. It is about the margin. The reason is simple: performance, party strength, and people’s trust have aligned in his favor.
The Senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly has turned representation into visible results. Roads, classrooms, bridges, bursaries, and direct support to women, farmers, and youths have earned him what political analysts call “organic followership.” It is loyalty that does not need to be rented on election day because it was built every day in office.
That trust was confirmed at the recent APC Kogi West Senatorial District primaries where Senator Karimi recorded an overwhelming victory. For him, the mandate is another chance to consolidate gains and deliver even more for the people who have stood with him.
Kogi West is naturally APC territory. The party’s dominance in the district is not new, but under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration the zone has seen more appointments and more infrastructure attention. Senator Karimi’s strategy is to consolidate that advantage. His message to stakeholders is unity and collective responsibility: “All hands must be on deck. Kogi West has always been APC. If we deliver as one, we secure more projects and more respect at the national level.” With APC’s base plus a senator who delivers, the 2027 election in Kogi West looks less like a contest and more like a coronation.
The proof is on the ground. For over ten years the Kabba-Ilorin road was an abandoned promise. Senator Karimi revived it by attracting personal funds, brokering partnerships with the Federal Ministry of Works and other agencies, and getting contractors back to site. Movement of farm produce and people has improved across the corridor. The Pakuta Bridge, once a death trap, has been rebuilt. Several rural roads across all seven local government areas have received attention, cutting travel time and opening markets that were previously cut off.
Education is where his impact is most emotional. This session alone, over 4,000 tertiary students across Kogi State are on his bursary scheme with ₦400 million paid directly toward their fees. At Titcom College, Egbe, he delivered a modern CBT centre worth over ₦350 million so Okun-speaking students no longer travel long distances for exams. Similar centres are at advanced stages in Lokoja, Mopa, and Yagba East. His signature project remains the complete rebuilding of GSSS Koton at over ₦1.3 billion. Parents and teachers now describe it as the envy of public schools in Kogi.
Women form his strongest base. Through cooperative grants and training, hundreds of women across Kogi West have expanded businesses in food processing, tailoring, and trading. Farmers, artisans, welders, carpenters, and traders in Lokoja and beyond have also benefited from equipment support and micro-grants. That kind of direct engagement with market women and farmers is rare, but for Senator Karimi it is routine.
On security, he understood that development cannot survive without peace. He facilitated a ₦750 million military forward operating base along Kogi West borders to support agencies tackling banditry and kidnapping. Traditional rulers and council chairmen say response time and community confidence have improved since the base became operational.
Veteran observers say no first-term senator in recent memory has matched this spread of projects. From roads to education, security to livelihood support, the interventions cut across every LGA in Kogi West. That is why a community leader in Yagba East put it plainly: “He is grounded in the hearts of rural dwellers. Even with opposition candidates from other parties, his election is as good as a clean win.”
Youths across campuses call themselves his “vanguard.” They praise not just the bursaries and CBT centres, but his accessibility. Unlike the distant lawmaker stereotype, Senator Karimi takes calls, attends community meetings, and responds directly to requests. That access, combined with youth-focused projects, has created a mobilization base that needs no political machinery.
Senator Karimi does not claim to be perfect. He admits that fighting for the people can create friction. “Since the return of democracy, it is difficult to match this level of representation in one term,” he says. “If I have offended anyone in the process of serving our people, I ask for forgiveness. Lessons have been learnt. I remain your servant and I will continue to deliver.”
With APC’s dominance in Kogi West, the Senator’s track record, and the people’s trust, the 2027 equation is clear. As the Kabba-Ilorin road is set to get fresh asphalt and students in Egbe, Koton, Mopa, and Lokoja sit for exams in modern CBT halls, the message from the grassroots is already settled: Senator Sunday Karimi has all it takes to win Kogi West seamlessly.