KARIMI’S KOGI WEST DEVELOPMENT BLITZ
N1.48bn Science School, 140 Water Projects, N750m Military Base, N400m Bursary, Kabba-Egbe Road… Senator Turns Constituency Representation Into Infrastructure Drive
By Democracy Newsline News Desk
From classrooms to roads, from water projects to security infrastructure, from scholarships to women empowerment, Senator Sunday Karimi’s constituency interventions are increasingly being measured in projects serving communities rather than isolated gestures to individuals.
That emerging pattern came into sharp focus with the commissioning of the newly rehabilitated Government Science Secondary School, Kotonkarfe, a N1.48 billion Federal Government intervention facilitated by Senator Karimi, in what supporters describe as one of the most significant education infrastructure projects undertaken in Kogi West in recent years.
The Kotonkarfe project, executed through the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was selected among 50 senior secondary schools for intervention nationwide and was reported as the first of the projects to be completed.
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At the commissioning ceremony on Friday, the NSSEC Executive Secretary, Dr. Iyela Ajayi, represented by Mr. Olugbenga Adelogun, said quality education could not be achieved without a safe, functional and supportive learning environment.
He described the intervention as an investment in the future of Nigerian children, while commending Senator Karimi for complementing the Federal Government’s efforts.
But Kotonkarfe, according to the senator and his supporters, is only one piece of a much bigger constituency development agenda.
Represented at the commissioning by retired Navy Commodore Folusho Daniel, Karimi pointed to a wide range of interventions spanning education, roads, water, electricity, security, healthcare, agriculture, youth employment and women empowerment across Kogi West.
THE SCHOOL THAT SYMBOLISES THE NEW APPROACH
Constructed in 24 weeks by Messrs First Man Industry Link Limited, the Kotonkarfe school now boasts an administrative block containing seven offices for 16 staff members, a principal’s office and secretary’s office, a 15-capacity boardroom, offices for vice principals and senior master, six classrooms accommodating 46 students each, staff rooms and ramps.
The facility also contains four science laboratories and four ICT laboratories, each designed to accommodate 48 students, alongside chemical stores, offices, conveniences, a gatehouse, 3KVA inverter, borehole with overhead tank and solar-powered streetlights.
The Principal, Mallam Inusa Dauda, pledged to protect and properly utilise the facilities but appealed for perimeter fencing.
The appeal received the backing of the Chairman of the State Senior Secondary Education Board, Mrs. Habiba Suleiman, and the Ohimege Igu of Kotonkarfe, HRM Dr. Saidu Akawu Salihu.
N400m BURSARY: THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS BENEFIT
Education appears to occupy a central position in Karimi’s constituency intervention strategy.
The senator reportedly spent N350 million to rehabilitate his alma mater, Titcombe College, Egbe, while transforming its library into a solar-powered CBT centre.
Additional CBT centres are being developed in Lokoja, Kabba, Mopa and Isanlu, with the objective of reducing the burden on students who travel long distances to write UTME.
Through the Sunday Steve Karimi Education Foundation, more than 4,000 tertiary students have reportedly received bursary support of N100,000 each.
The foundation also reportedly disbursed N100 million to 1,000 students in 2024 and N400 million to 3,000 students in 2025.
Other education interventions include payment of WAEC and NECO fees, construction of classroom blocks at St. Barnabas Odo-Ape and Iluke, and a N10 million donation to the Anglican Nursing School, Iyara.
KABBA-EGBE ROAD: AFTER 11 YEARS, CONTRACTORS RETURN
On the infrastructure front, the Kabba-Egbe-Ilorin road has emerged as one of the projects drawing attention.
The road, which had reportedly been abandoned for more than 11 years, has attracted about N2 billion in rehabilitation funding facilitated by Karimi, with an additional N6 billion reportedly secured through the Federal Ministry of Works to support the return of contractors to the project.
The senator has also been associated with the reconstruction of the Pakuta Bridge linking Aiyegunle Gbede, Kiri and Kupa communities towards Niger State, alongside grading and rehabilitation of rural roads across the seven local government areas of Kogi West.
140 WATER INTERVENTIONS, 75 NEW SOLAR BOREHOLES
In communities where access to potable water remains a daily challenge, Karimi’s constituency intervention figures include 140 water projects, representing an investment reportedly exceeding N1.24 billion.
The interventions comprise 75 new solar-powered boreholes and 65 rehabilitated water schemes.
Twenty-two solar-powered motorised boreholes have also reportedly been provided, while five industrial boreholes are planned for Lokoja metropolis.
N750m MILITARY BASE FOR BORDER SECURITY
Security has equally become a major component of the intervention portfolio.
Karimi is credited by his supporters with facilitating a N750 million fully equipped Military Forward Operating Base along the Kogi West border.
The existing 96-bed Forward Operating Base in Egbe has also reportedly been upgraded, while two Hilux patrol vehicles and accommodation support have been provided for security personnel.
The interventions have facilitated security deployment to vulnerable communities including Jege, Odo-Ere, Isanlu and Olle-Bunu.
Supporters have consequently cited the interventions in describing Karimi as a security-conscious representative.
WOMEN, YOUTHS, FARMERS AND ARTISANS
Beyond physical infrastructure, the senator’s constituency programme reportedly includes economic empowerment.
About N100 million has reportedly been disbursed to 50 women cooperatives, while more than 500 women have undergone training in food processing and tailoring.
Farmers have received agricultural inputs, while artisans have been provided with working equipment.
Federal employment opportunities have also reportedly been facilitated for youths, while food items valued at more than N300 million were distributed to constituents during festive periods.
In healthcare, Karimi is sponsoring a N150 million community hospital in Kakanda, Lokoja Local Government Area.
FROM HANDOUTS TO COMMUNITY ASSETS?
The growing list of interventions has triggered a broader conversation about what constituency representation should look like.
Supporters of the senator argue that the emerging pattern represents a movement away from representation measured primarily by individual assistance towards projects that can remain in communities and serve successive generations.
The Kotonkarfe school, they contend, is illustrative: instead of a one-off intervention benefiting a limited number of individuals, the project creates permanent educational infrastructure capable of serving thousands of students over time.
The same argument is being made about the roads, boreholes, CBT centres, security facilities, transformers, healthcare projects and empowerment schemes attributed to the senator.
For Kogi West, the significance of the unfolding projects may ultimately be determined not merely by the number of announcements but by completion, functionality, accessibility and sustainability.
And as the 2027 political season approaches, the constituency development record being presented by Senator Karimi’s supporters is certain to feature prominently in conversations about representation across Kogi, Lokoja, Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba East, Yagba West and Mopamuro.
From the N1.48 billion Kotonkarfe school to the Kabba-Egbe road; from 140 water interventions to the N750 million military facility; from bursaries running into hundreds of millions of naira to youth and women empowerment programmes, the emerging narrative is unmistakable:
Kogi West is increasingly being presented with a constituency report card written not only in promises, but in projects scattered across its communities.
DemocracyNewslineNewspaper, September 19, 2027
