2027: Kogi West APC elders endorse Karimi, preach unity

Kogi West Elders Assembly (KWEA) has called on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi West to close ranks and work together ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning against actions capable of creating division within the party.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the group reacted to a gathering held in Lokoja under the banner of the “Kogi West APC Leaders Forum,” describing the meeting as unrepresentative of the zone’s broader political leadership.

According to the elders, the meeting, reportedly convened by the Kogi State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (rtd), and attended by some government appointees and party members, sought to challenge the outcome of the APC senatorial primary conducted on May 18, 2026.

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The statement which was jointly signed by Air Commodore Hafiz Kpareke (rtd) for Lokoja/Kotonkarfe Federal Constituency, Dr. Bartholomew Mepaiyeda for Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency, and Engr. Adetunji Obaro for Yagba Federal Constituency reads as follows:

“It has come to the attention of the Kogi West Elders Assembly, (KWEA), that a group of persons from the zone, assembled on Saturday July 4, 2026, purportedly under the banner of “Kogi West APC Leaders Forum.” “The congregation was in response to an impromptu invite e-signed by Jerry Omodara, a former Commander in the Nigerian Navy and the security adviser to the governor of Kogi state since 2015.

“Convened in a small room in Reverton Hotel, Lokoja, the meeting was labelled a “World Press Conference,” towards the “collective progress and regional objectives of Kogi West.” Attendees at the meeting included Helen Aderibigbe, the Kogi State Commissioner for Science and Innovation; Philip Orebiyi, General Manager of the State Hotels and Tourism Board; Shaibu Ipinmisho; Israel Alonge; Sunday Paul and Dele Nihi, all appointees of the state government.

“There were also the Director-General of the Kogi State Bureau of Public Procurement, Joshua Sunday Ehimony; former Member representing Mopamuro state constituency in the House of Assembly, Eric Fiki; a former caretaker chairman of Yagba East council area, Bola Fabola; and the youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State, Buhari Lokoja.

“In a revisionist affront challenging the supremacy of the national leadership of the APC, which adjudged the primary election of May 18, 2026, which duly returned the senatorial ticket for the January 2027 elections to the incumbent, Sunday Steve Karimi, who won the contest with over 50,000 votes, the group falsely and barefacedly alleged that the primary produced a different winner.

“It is a fact that three-time Senator Smart Adeyemi and Samuel Aro, who had a little-remembered stint in the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2011, both opted out of the primary and declared unequivocal support for Karimi. Aro, however, has thereafter made himself a pliable tool in the hands of agents of destabilisation in Kogi West, who got him to pull down his withdrawal from the primary, which was posted on the global billboard of Facebook, and stake a tenuous claim to victory in a primary he didn’t participate in.

“APC heavyweights like Smart Adeyemi; Duro Meseko, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC; Arc Idris Salman, FNIA, representing Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency in the House of Representatives; Yori Afolabi, Commissioner representing Kogi State in the National Population Commission (NPC); Olusola George Olumoroti, Managing Director of the Lower Niger Basin Development Authority, Ilorin, were neither consulted nor did they attend the said meeting. A convergence that excludes leaders at this level cannot be said to be inclusive.

“KWEA wishes to draw attention to a peace meeting convened by Governor Ododo ahead of the recent primaries, where political gladiators were admonished to sheathe their swords and work together for the overall success of the party. What has changed since that engagement?

“Senator Karimi is a tried, tested, and trusted political warhorse in Kogi State politics who has participated in and won three general elections, twice to the House of Representatives in 2011 and 2015, and thereafter to the Senate in 2023. He is on the cusp of a second term in the Senate, come January 2027, courtesy of his commitment, service and selflessness, and the overwhelming political goodwill he commands in Kogi West. Through his foundation, he continues to operate a bursary scheme to support indigent students across the state, a programme which has benefited several thousand students and their families.

“Aside from his broad-based philanthropy, he has been involved in identifiable physical infrastructural projects in education, security, and healthcare delivery, among others. The recent award of contracts for the rehabilitation of roads linking Kogi West with Kwara and Ekiti states, which will boost mobility, socioeconomic activities, and security, is substantially a culmination of his yeomanry. To the people of Kogi West, Senator Karimi is the “Moses” they know and see.

“Now is the time to halt unnecessary dissipation of energy in the name of divisive politics. Stakeholders in Kogi West must rally their constituents and supporters together to deliver President Bola Tinubu, Senator Sunday Karimi, and our representatives at various levels, even as the year 2027 knocks on our doors.

The Kogi West Elders Assembly urged all APC stakeholders in the zone to put aside personal interests and unite behind the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 elections. It called on members to work collectively towards securing victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Sunday Karimi, and other APC candidates at all levels.