Karimi Sunday Steve
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.
Security & Defense
Enhances compensation, medical care, housing support, scholarships, stipends, and health insurance for military personnel injured in duty and their families.
Governance & Reform
Commits to amending Nigeria’s governance architecture through constitutional review and collaboration with the National Assembly and State Governments to grant States greater autonomy over critical matters like crime prevention, prisons, stamp duties, and taxation.
Economy & Trade
Reforms the Federal Budgetary Methodology to move away from oil revenue dependence and base spending on projected growth, establishing an inflationary ceiling to optimize fiscal policy without causing excessive inflation.
Infrastructure
Launches a National Infrastructure Campaign to modernize national infrastructure by hiring millions of unemployed Nigerians through the fiscal flexibility gained from reforming budgetary methodology.
Agriculture
Will encourage local farmers to form farm cooperatives, enabling them to pool resources for modern farming equipment, fertiliser, and access priority government agricultural assistance programs (extension services), with tax breaks and credits.
Environment & Climate
Will **reduce Nigeria’s gas flaring** by removing it from the top 10 countries with highest flares, aiming to maximize sector benefits while eliminating environmental harm.
Anti-corruption
Curb reliance on imported goods via luxury taxes, higher tariffs, and processing fees while incentivizing local manufacturing with tax credits/rebates.
Enterprise grant support
Provides tax credits, holidays, and reduced interest rate loans for businesses that hire a specified percentage of youth in their workforce and offer on-the-job training.
Energy
Will increase Nigeria’s domestic crude oil production to **2.6 million barrels per day by 2027** and **4 million barrels per day by 2030**, while implementing a Special Enforcement and Monitoring Unit to deter theft, vandalism, and pipeline breaches using drones and aerial surveillance.
Education
Introduces a new management system for federally funded primary and secondary schools via Boards of Education, reserving community representation in decision-making.
Healthcare
Will strengthen primary healthcare infrastructure with incentive schemes, counterpart funding programs, and grassroots preventative care (vaccinations, cancer screening, blood pressure monitoring) in collaboration with state/local governments.
Technology & Digital
Establishment of an advisory committee to review and reform regulatory frameworks for blockchain technology and virtual asset services.
Reliefs and scholarships
Provides **conditional income support** to very poor households, tied to human capital development goals like high-school attendance, healthcare, and nutrition.
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Sources
Bio, Photo, State of Origin: Wikipedia ↗
Date of Birth: Wikidata ↗
Gender, Qualifications: INEC ↗