LOKOJA — Senator Sunday Steve Karimi has publicly endorsed Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s bid for a second term and apologised for earlier remarks that had been interpreted as opposition to the governor’s 2027 re-election drive.
Karimi made the declaration at an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Lokoja, held days before the party’s senatorial primary on May 18, 2026. The Kogi West lawmaker, who is seeking re‑election to the Senate, appealed to party leaders and supporters to forgive any statement or action that may have been seen as antagonistic to the governor.
“I was too inconsequential” to stand in the way of Ododo’s second‑term ambition, Karimi said, according to attendees. Observers described the apology as emotional and noted that it signalled a thaw in what had been perceived as a growing rift between the senator and the governor.
The remarks come months after Karimi reportedly stoked controversy at a previous stakeholders’ meeting by saying that “2027 should be the turn of an Okun governor.” That comment, widely interpreted as a challenge to Ododo — who is from Kogi Central — sparked speculation of an internal cold war within the state APC between forces loyal to the governor and supporters of the senator.
Political analysts within the party said Karimi’s public reconciliation may have helped his emergence as the APC’s consensus senatorial candidate for Kogi West. Party stakeholders at the meeting welcomed the rapprochement, with many describing unity as essential to maintaining the party’s dominance in Kogi State ahead of the 2027 polls.
