By joshua SENATOR KARIMI: THREE YEARS OF IMPACT, A MANDATE TO RENEW IN 2027
By Musa Bakare
Politics at its noblest is not merely a contest for power; it is the stewardship of the people’s trust and the responsibility to transform a mandate into service, development and hope.
By this standard, the three-year record of Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, deserves serious consideration.
On August 24, 2026, Lokoja was agog as Senator Karimi made a triumphant entry into the Lokoja/Koto Federal Constituency, not to defend an empty record, but to showcase three years of legislative advocacy, constituency development, empowerment, education, infrastructure and security interventions.
His case before the people is therefore one of performance, not rhetoric.
Since his inauguration into the 10th Senate in 2023, Karimi has demonstrated that effective representation requires both a strong voice in Abuja and a compassionate heart at home.
His interventions across Kogi West have included water projects, electricity transformers, solar streetlights, educational support, roads, bridges, empowerment programmes and security initiatives.
His educational interventions, including bursary support, examination assistance and support for a CBT centre at Titcombe College, Egbe, reflect his understanding that the greatest investment any society can make is investment in its people.
His advocacy for the Kabba–Ilorin Road also stands out. For years, the road represented economic isolation and unfulfilled expectations.
Karimi made its revival a major priority, alongside interventions such as the Pakuta Bridge and other infrastructure projects.
Roads are more than asphalt. They are economic arteries connecting farmers to markets, students to schools, patients to hospitals and communities to opportunities.
Security has equally received attention. His facilitation of a Nigerian Army Forward Operating Base in Egbe demonstrates an understanding that development cannot flourish where citizens live in fear.
Beyond constituency projects, Karimi has maintained an active legislative profile through bills, motions and committee responsibilities. His responsibilities on important Senate committees, including his position as Chairman of the Senate Services Committee, further reflect his growing experience and influence in the National Assembly.
This is the foundation of the argument for his return in 2027.
A first term establishes direction; a second term consolidates achievement.
The question before Kogi West should therefore not simply be who wants to become senator, but who has demonstrated the capacity, experience and commitment to continue representing the district effectively?
Karimi enters the 2027 contest with the advantages of legislative experience, grassroots visibility, political exposure and an established record of interventions across Kogi West.
His emergence as the APC candidate for the 2027 Kogi West senatorial election further strengthens his position.
Democracy is not only the freedom to replace leaders; it is also the freedom to retain leaders who have served effectively. When a representative performs, citizens have every democratic right to say: continue.
The next four years should be about consolidating the gains already recorded; more roads, water projects, educational support, youth and women empowerment, agricultural development, security infrastructure and greater federal presence across Kogi West.
When voters return to the ballot box in 2027, they will ultimately match records with promises.
If performance, continuity and tangible development remain the guiding principles, Senator Sunday Steve Karimi will have a simple message before the people: judge me by what I have done and decide whether I deserve the opportunity to do more.
For Kogi West, the choice is therefore about whether to interrupt an established trajectory or consolidate it.
Experience should not be discarded when it is producing results. A mandate that has yielded meaningful interventions deserves the opportunity for consolidation.
That is why Senator Sunday Steve Karimi stands strongly positioned to secure the confidence of the people of Kogi West and return to the Senate for another four-year term in 2027.
Musa Asiru Bakare, political analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
August 25, 2026