Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Sunday Steve Karimi has announced an annual scholarship for children of one of his constituents, Sunday Ojo, a.k.a. Ajaga. Ojo a prominent youth leader, community mobiliser and businessman from who hailed from Ponyan in Yagba East council area, died recently after a brief illness.
Reacting to the news of his demise, Senator Karimi who is also the Senate Committee Chairman on Services, noted that Ojo’s departure was indeed a very painful loss, not only to his family and immediate community, but to the senatorial zone as a whole. He applauded Ojo’s endeavours in community development, as a hardworking young man who pursued legitimate entrepreneurial concerns, rather than await handouts from the political class. According to him, Ojo was a notable farmer, who supported settler farmers in the community and availed them farming inputs, from his modest resources. He noted that Ojo was not predisposed to brigandage and violence which have become features of our contemporary politics in parts.
Karimi, who has been very notably committed to educational advancement in Kogi West, pledged the sum of N1.5 million annually, for the next four years, as scholarship awards for Sunday Ojo’s children in tertiary institutions. According to the Kogi West parliamentarian: “We are renowned in Kogi West and Okunland for wholesale immersion in educational pursuits. Education, as we all know, has been the fulcrum of my official and personal interventions as representative of our people over the years. Our 2025/2026 statewide scholarship will cost us N300million. This is soon after the initial N139million which we expended on scholarships for Kogi West, the previous cycle. Over the next four years, we will support the education of Sunday Ojo’s children pursuing advanced education with a cumulative N6million, at N1.5million per year.” Senator Karimi commiserated with Sunday Ojo “Ajaga’s” family and community at large, and prayed for them for the fortitude to manage the pain of his departure.
Responding on behalf of Ojo’s family and community, Engr Kayode Adegbayo, a prominent businessman and politician from Ponyan, thanked Senator Karimi for his generosity. His words: “Senator, you have by this pronouncement lifted a heavy burden off the back of Sunday Ojo’s family. He was the indisputable breadwinner of his family and his unfortunate exit would have taken a toll on the seamless education of his children. But you’ve stepped in where it truly matters, not as a politician, but as a true African father who is his brother’s keeper, especially in his absence.” Olagbayo enjoined the people of Kogi West to continue to support their elected leaders wholeheartedly as they strive through challenges to impact their constituents and communities.
*Busayo Tosin*
*Media Officer to Senator Sunday Karimi*
*Chairman, Senate Committee on Services*
