The Kogi West Elders Assembly (KWEA) has declared Senator Sunday Steve Karimi as the authentic candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Kogi West Senatorial District in the 2027 general election, dismissing renewed claims challenging the outcome of the party’s primary election.
The assembly’s position follows a press conference by a group operating under the name *Kogi West APC Leaders Forum*, which claimed that former House of Representatives member Samuel Bamidele Aro won the APC senatorial primary and urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prevent any attempt to substitute his candidacy.
However, in a strongly worded response issued on Saturday, KWEA described the claim as false and contrary to the position of the APC’s national leadership, insisting that the May 18, 2026 primary election validly produced the incumbent senator, Sunday Steve Karimi, as the party’s flag bearer.
The statement, jointly signed by Air Commodore Hafiz Kpareke (rtd.), Dr. Bartholomew Mepaiyeda and Engr. Adetunji Obaro, argued that the gathering convened under the banner of the Kogi West APC Leaders Forum did not reflect the position of the district’s mainstream political leadership.
According to the elders, several prominent APC leaders from Kogi West, including former Senator Smart Adeyemi, APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary Duro Meseko, member representing Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency Idris Salman, National Population Commission Commissioner Yori Afolabi and Lower Niger Basin Development Authority Managing Director Olusola George Olumoroti, neither attended nor were consulted before the meeting.
KWEA maintained that the APC primary was conducted in accordance with the party’s guidelines and produced Karimi as the winner with what it described as an overwhelming mandate, adding that the outcome had been recognised by the party’s national leadership.
The assembly further alleged that both Smart Adeyemi and Samuel Aro withdrew from the race before the primary and publicly endorsed Karimi, arguing that Aro’s subsequent claim to the ticket lacked merit.
The elders recalled that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo convened a peace meeting ahead of the primary election, where aspirants and stakeholders were encouraged to accept the outcome of the contest and work together for the success of the APC.
Describing Karimi as a seasoned politician with a proven electoral record, the assembly cited his victories in two House of Representatives elections and his election to the Senate in 2023 as evidence of his popularity across Kogi West.
The elders also highlighted his constituency interventions, including scholarships for indigent students, projects in education, healthcare and security, as well as his role in attracting the rehabilitation of key federal roads linking Kogi West with neighbouring Kwara and Ekiti states.
They urged party members to set aside internal disagreements and unite behind Karimi, President Bola Tinubu and Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo ahead of the 2027 general election.
The statement concluded that preserving party unity would be critical to sustaining the APC’s electoral fortunes in Kogi West and ensuring continued development across the senatorial district.