Critical stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) under the Kogi Progressive Stakeholders Forum (KPSF) working for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday rose in defence of the Senator representing Kogi West, Senator Sunday Steve Karimi.
The critical stakeholders in a statement signed by the state coordinator, KPSF, Sani Philips, cautioned the APC National Working Committee (NWC) yielding to the allegations raised against the Senator by some elements.
In the statement, the critical stakeholders frowned at what they called failed “no confidence vote” and baseless allegations of mismanaged representation leveled against the Senator.
“Ordinarily, we would waste no effort in responding to repeatedly failed “no confidence vote” and baseless allegations of mismanaged representation leveled against the Senator which we believe are aimed at painting him in bad light with the failed attempt of scuttling his re-election bid back to the senate”, it said.
The stakeholders added, “But for respected members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party the APC and unsuspecting members of the general public, we wish to state as follows unequivocally.
“That the allegations of mismanaged representation made against Sen. Sunday Steve Karimi, Senator representing the good and amiable people of Kogi West under the platform of our great party the APC are false, unfounded, baseless, malicious and a desperate agenda driven by mischief and cheap blackmail be disregarded and thrown to the trash where it belongs by the highly respected members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party the APC and indeed members of the general public”.
According to the Stakeholders, “From our investigations, Sen. Sunday Steve Karimi enjoys the overwhelming majority support of the people of Kogi west who are happy with him, having represented them well at the Senate, in view of the numerous people oriented projects, programs, bills and initiatives undertaken by the Senator which has impacted positively on their lives, bringing smiles upon their faces.
“That Senator Sunday Steve Karimi is generally accepted with an unprecedented grassroots support ever in the history of Kogi West having performed credibly well and maintains strong political alignment with our own supreme leader of the APC, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It is highly regrettable that party executives entrusted with leadership responsibilities are being subjected to undue pressure and manipulations to undermine a Serving Senator of our party who has demonstrated commitment, visibility, and performance in the service of his constituents. This ugly development if left unchecked, poses a serious threat to internal cohesion capable of impacting negatively on the electoral fortunes of the party in the senatorial district.”
They noted, “While we seek not to join issues or demean ourselves to bandy words with extremely pressured party and state sponsored officials in public, it is pertinent to state clearly that their position do not reflect the true feelings of the generality of members of the APC at the grassroots in Kogi West”.
According to the stakeholders, “The laudable achievements of Senator Sunday Steve Karimi under the APC remains unmatched and are well known to the constituents of Kogi West who are in utmost support of his re-election alongside President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR come 2027.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Sen. Sunday Steve Karimi remains focused in delivering the dividends of democracy to the good and amiable people of Kogi West and refuses to be distracted in the ongoing campaign of calumny against him, working together with other party faithfuls in the state to ensure the re- election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR not only in Kogi west senatorial district but the entire Kogi state come 2027.
“We appeal to the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party the APC to prioritize the option of winning elections in 2027 for the party and for President Bola Ahmed Tinibu above the parochial interest of a few individuals and to disregard in its entirety the baseless allegations of mismanaged representation leveled against our performing Senator of Kogi West, Sen. Sunday Steve Karimi.
“We therefore call on all our APC supporters, party stakeholders, and well-meaning members of the party in Kogi West to remain calm, law-abiding, and steadfast in their support for the party and its ideals. We urge them to resist any attempt to sow seeds of discord or create unnecessary tension within our ranks”.
