Karimi Sunday Steve is a Nigerian politician who contested the 2023 Nigerian Senate Elections as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Kogi.

Biography

Sunday Steve Karimi is a Nigerian politician and senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Kogi State. Karimi is the Chairman of the Committee on Senate Services.

From 2011 to 2019, Karimi was the member representing Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro constituency in the House of Representatives.

In October 2023, Karimi explained in an interview with Channels TV that the Senate needed to buy imported Sports Utility Vehicles for its 109 members because 'most of our roads are terribly bad.' When challenged, he defended his position by saying, 'Somebody that is a minister has more than three Land Cruisers, Prado, and other vehicles, and you are not asking them questions; why us?'

He was born in Egbe, Yagba West Local Government, Kogi State.

He studied Production Engineering at Kwara State College of Technology, Ilorin, Kwara State, where he bagged a distinction in 1979.

He received training at Titcombe College, Egbe, which was established by the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM).

Later, he became a key player in Nigeria's water resources sector.

In a keenly contested primary election, Karimi rode on the support of incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello to clinch the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He emerged as the party’s candidate in the 2023 senatorial elections in Kogi state, defeating the sitting Senator Smart Adeyemi of the same party.

He proceeded to contest in the general elections, defeating his closest rival, Tajudeen Yusuf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to emerge as the senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District.

Sunday Karimi cautioned Mohammed Ali Ndume on the floor of the Senate to do as he preaches when admonishing other leaders, particularly on issues related to security.

As a leader, he has sponsored several bills and moved motions both in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

One such bill seeks to bar the governor and deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from participating in politics, which passed the second reading at the Senate in 2023.

To address rising insecurity in Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Sunday Karimi constructed and handed over a fully furnished and equipped military base to the Nigerian Army in the outskirts of Egbe, Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State.

He facilitated the construction of 75 new solar-powered boreholes and the rehabilitation of 60 moribund water schemes across communities in Kogi West. The project was valued at N1.24 billion.

Party Positions

Policy positions from the All Progressives Congress (APC) party manifesto.

Agriculture

Launches the Irrigate Nigeria Project as a public-private partnership to develop small-scale irrigation and water catchment systems using modern technology to boost agricultural productivity.

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Security & Defense

Will deploy modern aerial surveillance and advanced technology to monitor and deter intrusions into oil pipelines, power stations, and other critical national infrastructure in real time.

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Environment & Climate

Accelerates the environmental cleanup and re-establishment of fisheries and profitable aquacultural activities in the Niger-Delta region to counter violent extremism and poverty-driven disaffection.

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Economy & Trade

Will implement the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and additional favorable policies to attract investment in deep-water assets within 6 months, including encouraging signature bonus negotiations and royalty reliefs.

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Infrastructure

Creates regional industrial hubs in specific zones (North West, North East, South East, South South, South West, North Central) to focus on labor-intensive manufacturing, with tailored investments (e.g., textiles, dry ports, glass, pottery, solid minerals, regulated mining).

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Enterprise grant support

Work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to simplify loan processes for commercial banks, mandate federally owned banks to provide low-cost loans to youth-led enterprises, and expand business incubation centers to support youth innovation.

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Energy

Will mandate gas metering equipment on all facilities where gas flaring occurs within 6 months and establish a special enforcement unit to monitor compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) on gas flaring reduction, with non-compliance leading to financial penalties for affected communities.

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Governance & Reform

Reserve at least 3 cabinet positions for individuals under 40 and 6 more positions for members under the age of 40, and mandate that at least 20% of political appointments to Ministries/Dangomas (MDAs) be reserved for individuals under 40.

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Education

Raises the priority of addressing out-of-school children, establishes a task force to review and strengthen programs like school feeding, and aims to reduce disaffected youth recruitment by violent groups.

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Healthcare

Will establish a network of upgraded, equipped, and staffed general hospitals in every Local Government Area, tertiary facilities in each State, and world-class specialist hospitals in each geo-political zone to improve healthcare accessibility and quality.

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Technology & Digital

Supports the development of MSMEs through partnerships with fintech players to expand access to capital and business development services.

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Reliefs and scholarships

Commits to a conditional income support program requiring recipients to meet human capital goals (school attendance, healthcare, nutrition) in exchange for payments.

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