A group of critical stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC) alongside various APC support groups in Kogi State under the Kogi Progressive Stakeholders Forum (KPSF) has called on Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to halt to continued demarking of the ruling party in the state.
In a statement signed by the State Coordinator, Sani Philips, and made available to newsmen on Thursday, KPSF said the consistent, despicable and disgraceful negative pattern of always engaging the media on internal party issues is aimed at weakening party cohesion, mismanaging the political fortunes of party and degrading its value before the electorates in Kogi State with an attempt not only to frustrate the re-election bid of Senator Sunday Steve Karimi but also that of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Reacting to the press conference held in Kabba, the senatorial headquarters of Kogi West, by members of the local government and state executive committee of the APC from Kogi West purporting to warn the APC National Working Committee (NWC) against Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, KPSF said the actions of some members of the Ododo-led government were aimed at painting the lawmaker in bad light with the attempt of scuttling his re-election bid back to the senate.
“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.
“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.
“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, GCFR.
“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.
“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. 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,” the statement read.
KPSF frowned against the frequent use and manipulations of the media by Hon. Bode Adeyemi, an appointee of the state government in the capacity of Special Adviser, who is alleged to be acting on the instructions of the State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.
The Forum stated that Senator 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, not only in Kogi west senatorial district but the entire Kogi state come 2027.
They appealed to the National Working Committee (NWC) of 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, 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.
“We remain confident that the party and the people of Kogi West, who are the ultimate custodians of the democratic mandate will once again renew their social contract with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and Senator Sunday Karimi based on their individual track record of outstanding performance, accessibility, and commitment to grassroots development.”