Karimi Group Rejects Kogi West APC Stakeholders’ Communiqué, Defends Senator’s Popularity

The Karimi 2.0 Group has rejected the communiqué issued after the Kogi West APC Stakeholders’ Strategic Alignment Meeting held in Lokoja, describing the gathering as an assembly of self-appointed political actors attempting to impose candidates on the people of Kogi West Senatorial District ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a statement issued on Monday in Lokoja and signed by the group’s coordinators, Comrade Danladi Suleiman and Comrade Gbenga Adekunle, the group alleged that the meeting was driven by desperation among politicians unsettled by the political support enjoyed by Senator Sunday Steve Karimi.

The group maintained that no group of stakeholders has the constitutional authority to determine the political future of Kogi West outside established democratic processes.

“The people of Kogi West are not political slaves to be dictated to by a few power brokers hiding under the name of stakeholders,” the statement said.

The Karimi 2.0 Group further alleged that the meeting took place at the residence of a senior Kogi State government official, where threats and intimidation were allegedly directed at perceived political opponents.

According to the statement, democracy can only thrive through participation, consultation, healthy competition, and the free choice of the electorate , not through intimidation or predetermined endorsements.

The group stressed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) remains a democratic institution guided by constitutional procedures and due process, insisting that no endorsement outside the party’s official framework can replace the will of party members and voters.

Defending Senator Karimi’s political standing in Kogi West, the group attributed his acceptance among supporters to constituency projects, empowerment initiatives, educational support programmes, and regular interaction with constituents across the seven local government areas in the district.

“The acceptance of Senator Sunday Steve Karimi lives in the minds of the thousands of people who have benefitted from his representation. No amount of gang-up or scripted communiqués can erase the relationship between the senator and the people,” the statement added.

The group also accused promoters of the communiqué of attempting to undermine internal democracy through what it described as a calculated political arrangement aimed at intimidating aspirants and manipulating the political space ahead of the 2027 elections.

It insisted that only the people of Kogi West have the right to decide who represents them in the Senate from 2027, noting that political offices cannot be allocated through closed-door meetings or endorsements by a select few.

While urging its supporters to remain peaceful and law-abiding, the Karimi 2.0 Group expressed confidence that the will of the people would ultimately prevail.

“We urge our members and supporters across Kogi West to remain peaceful, focused, and law-abiding.

The people know those who truly stand with them, and when the time comes, their voices will be heard loud and clear,” the statement concluded.