By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The Kogi West Elders Assembly (KWEA) has urged stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi West to close ranks and work towards the party’s success in the 2027 general elections, while criticizing a meeting held under the banner of the “Kogi West APC Leaders Forum.”
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Assembly said the gathering, reportedly convened at Reverton Hotel in Lokoja by Jerry Omodara, the Kogi State Governor’s Security Adviser, did not represent the collective leadership of the APC in Kogi West.
According to the statement, the meeting—described by its organisers as a “World Press Conference” on the region’s collective progress—was attended mainly by government appointees and a number of former political office holders, including Commissioner for Science and Innovation Helen Aderibigbe, State Hotels and Tourism Board General Manager Philip Orebiyi, Joshua Sunday Ehimony, Eric Fiki, Bola Fabola, Buhari Lokoja, Shaibu Ipinmisho, Israel Alonge, Sunday Paul and Dele Nihi.
The Assembly alleged that the group questioned the outcome of the APC senatorial primary election held on May 18, 2026, insisting that the party’s national leadership had officially recognised Senator Sunday Steve Karimi as the winner after he secured more than 50,000 votes.
KWEA also maintained that former Senator Smart Adeyemi and former House of Representatives member Samuel Aro had withdrawn from the primary before the exercise and initially declared support for Karimi. The statement, however, accused Aro of later reversing his position and laying claim to victory in the contest.
The elders further argued that several prominent APC leaders from Kogi West were neither consulted nor present at the meeting.
Among those listed were former Senator Smart Adeyemi, APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Duro Meseko, House of Representatives member Arc. Idris Salman, National Population Commission Commissioner Yori Afolabi, and Lower Niger Basin Development Authority Managing Director Olusola George Olumoroti.
The Assembly recalled that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo had convened a reconciliation meeting before the APC primaries, where party leaders were urged to put aside their differences and work together for the success of the party. It questioned the rationale behind renewed political disagreements after that peace initiative.
Defending Senator Karimi’s record, KWEA described him as an experienced politician who has won elections into the House of Representatives in 2011 and 2015 before emerging Senator in 2023.
The statement credited him with various constituency projects, educational support through his bursary scheme, interventions in healthcare and security, as well as facilitating road rehabilitation projects linking Kogi West with neighbouring Kwara and Ekiti states.
The Assembly said these achievements have earned Karimi widespread support across Kogi West and expressed confidence in his chances of securing a second term in the Senate in the 2027 elections.
It called on APC members and stakeholders across the district to avoid divisive politics and unite behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Sunday Steve Karimi, and other APC candidates ahead of the next general elections.
The statement was jointly signed on behalf of the Kogi West Elders Assembly by Air Commodore Hafiz Kpareke (Lokoja/Kotonkarfe Federal Constituency), Dr. Bartholomew Mepaiyeda (Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency), and Engr. Adetunji Obaro (Yagba Federal Constituency).
