By joshua Reward for Good Work: Let the Working Senator Continue, Kogi West Leaders Say as Karimi Secures APC Ticket
By Abu Micheal
With Senator Sunday Karimi now having secured the APC ticket for Kogi West Senatorial District, leaders and stakeholders across the district are calling for his re-election, saying his first term deserves to be rewarded so that he can continue the unprecedented work he has started.
Speaking with newsmen, Hon. Idris Abubakar, an APC chieftain from Lokoja LGA, described Senator Karimi as “an unusual representative” whose record in the Senate has gone beyond politics to touch the daily lives of the people. According to him, the case for a second term is written in boreholes, transformers, classrooms, roads, and now in computer screens.
The latest proof came when over 1,200 candidates sat for the 2026 JAMB examination at the 288-seater CBT centre in Titcombe College, Egbe, facilitated by Senator Karimi in partnership with the Titcombe College Old Students Association. Building on that success, the Senator representing Kogi West disclosed in Abuja that three more CBT centres have been captured in the 2026 appropriation. He said existing structures at Muslim Community Secondary School, Lokogoma in Lokoja LGA, Government Science School, Iyara in Ijumu LGA, and Okutadudu Comprehensive College, Odo-Ere in Yagba West LGA will be rehabilitated and converted into 275-capacity CBT centres, each equipped with 275 laptops, internet connectivity, CCTV, solar power, standby generators, and JAMB-standard toilet facilities.
“I’m already in discussion with the contractor for timely delivery without waiting for full fund releases from the federal government,” Karimi said, “so that the facilities will be ready and approved for the 2027 JAMB and WAEC examinations.” He added that with experience from the Egbe centre, efforts will be geared toward seamless delivery across Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu, Lokoja/Koton-Karfe, and Yagba Federal Constituencies. In addition to the three in the budget, the Chairman of the Senate Services Committee promised to personally fund a fourth CBT centre at ECWA Secondary School, Mopa in Mopamuro LGA in liaison with the community.
Hon. Idris said these education interventions sit on a much wider record of delivery that makes Senator Karimi’s case compelling. He cited the remodeling of Government Secondary School, Koton-Karfe at the cost of N1.2 billion, the sinking and rehabilitation of about 150 boreholes across the seven LGAs of Kogi West, and the installation of solar lights in over 62 communities alongside the distribution and rehabilitation of 32 transformers. He also noted Karimi’s leading role in pushing for the completion of the Kabba-Egbe road with close to N10 billion lobbied, and the resumption of work on the Iluhagba–Mopa–Isanlu–Egbe federal road after N3 billion was captured in the 2025 budget and an additional N6 billion secured through discussions with the Minister of Works. Contractor CGC is already on site and making steady progress along the Isanlu–Ejiba axis.
Senator Karimi, while commending President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Works, David Umahi, expressed confidence that the road project will improve lives and security, and that the Renewed Hope Agenda “continues to be a reality in Kogi West and Nigeria in general.”
On human capital, Hon. Idris noted that Karimi gave bursaries to 1,000 tertiary institution students in 2024, and that another N400 million has been released for students across the state. He also highlighted a N100 million women empowerment program and the distribution of truckloads of palliatives such as rice, semovita, rams and cows during festive and Ramadan periods for both Christians and Muslims. In health and education infrastructure, Karimi is credited with the construction of a healthcare centre in Kakanda and the building and furnishing of classrooms with desks. On security, the APC chieftain praised the Senator for personally funding the construction of a forward military base in Egbe at a cost close to N1 billion.
Legislatively, Hon. Idris said Karimi has sponsored bills and motions with a national outlook for good governance, and has also secured over 34 pensionable appointments for constituents in the civil service and paramilitary. He stressed that Lokoja LGA has had the highest share of boreholes, transformers, and bursary beneficiaries, and that never in the history of Kogi West have the people enjoyed dividends of democracy at this scale.
Addressing the issue of rotation, Hon. Idris explained that Lokoja/Koton-Karfe had eight years, Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu had sixteen years, and this is the first time for Yagba Federal Constituency. “Now that he has gotten the ticket, let him complete the work and after that it can return to Lokoja/Koton-Karfe,” he said.
He concluded that all factors considered, Senator Sunday Karimi deserves a second term. “This is reward for good work. He has proven himself and he should be allowed to continue. From the Iluhagba–Egbe road to these four new CBT centres in Lokoja, Iyara, Odo-Ere and Mopa, the work is ongoing and Kogi West needs him to finish what he has started.”