By joshua Why Kogi West Must Retain Senator Sunday Karimi: The Power of A Ranking Senator Who Works
By Our Reporter.
In legislative democracy, experience is not just an asset; it is power. And ranking is not just a title; it is access, influence, and delivery. This is the story of Kogi West today.
When the people of Kogi West sent Senator Sunday Karimi to the 10th National Assembly, they did not just elect a Senator. They elected a tested legislator, a former two-term Member of the House of Representatives who had already proven that effective representation goes beyond making noise on the floor of the chamber. Two years down the line, that decision has been justified.
In the Senate, influence is built on seniority. As Chairman, Senate Services Committee, one of the most strategic committees of the Senate, Senator Karimi sits where decisions are made. He is not learning the ropes; he controls the ropes. The benefits for Kogi West and Kogi State at large are enormous and unprecedented for a first-term Senator. As a ranking member, he has direct access to the Senate leadership, Ministries, Departments and Agencies. Bills and requests from Kogi West do not stay in the queue; they get attention. Ranking Senators attract more federal presence. From constituency interventions to inclusion in national budgets, the difference between a new Senator and a ranking Senator is the difference between asking and getting. Senator Karimi also understands legislative craftsmanship. Like he did in the House of Representatives where he sponsored people-oriented bills and motions and facilitated projects across Kogi West, he has brought the same tempo to the Senate, with motions that matter, bills that address grassroots realities, and oversight that protects the people.
What distinguishes Senator Sunday Karimi is that he has not become an Abuja Senator. He remains a Kogi West Senator. Across the seven Local Government Areas of Kogi West, namely Lokoja, Kogi, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Mopamuro, Yagba East and Yagba West, his touch is visible in infrastructure interventions through the facilitation of rural roads, solar-powered boreholes, and rehabilitation of schools and primary healthcare centres that directly impact rural dwellers. In human capital development, his scholarship support, skills acquisition programmes for women and youth, and direct empowerment for farmers, artisans and traders have been delivered not as political charity, but as economic investment. He is accessible, present at critical community engagements, and swift in responding to security and welfare concerns of his constituents. In a political climate often heated by propaganda, Senator Karimi has maintained decorum, focus, and respect for all stakeholders, including traditional institutions.
Kogi West has tried the experiment of changing Senators every four years. The result has been loss of seniority and starting afresh. With Senator Karimi, Kogi West stands to gain a second-term Senator with principal office potential. A return to the Senate in 2027 means a shot at Senate Leadership, greater capacity to attract federal projects to Kogi State, continuity of his Kogi West Development Agenda without interruption, and a stronger voice for Kogi State in national power equations.
Senator Sunday Karimi has justified the first mandate. Like he did in the House of Representatives where his performance became a reference point, his first term in the Senate has been marked by quiet effectiveness, not empty noise. For Kogi West, the 2027 choice is clear: retain experience, reward performance, and secure the future. The people need a ranking Senator who works. They already have one.