The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin has denied the report of an assassination attempt masterminded by him on Hon. Shina Peller, the lawmaker representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa federal constituency.
Recall that the Shina Peller in a video clip had alleged that the Oyo Central senator sent hired killers to assassinate him.
Folarin, in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Sunday, said he is not an assassin and he does not operate a death squad, therefore, he could not have sent hired killers after Shina Peller or anyone.
While debunking the news, he also threatened to sue Peller for defamation of character as he claims the former is being used by Makinde to defame him.
The statement partly reads:
“It is highly condemnable for Hon. Shina Peller to publicly allege that I sent hired killers after him without stating a reason why I should want to do so”.
“I want to set the record straight that I do not have any anointed aspirant for the 2023 APC Oyo North senatorial district seat but I’ll respect the decisions of the majority party members (delegates) in the district”.
Hon. Shina Peller’s very serious allegation against my person is unacceptable and must be verified by the security agencies”.
“It is saddening that Governor Seyi Makinde is using Shina Peller to attempt a smear campaign on me and destabilize Oyo APC ahead of the 2023 elections”.
“The cordial relationship between Governor Makinde of PDP and Shina Peller of APC is public knowledge. It is an open fact that Shina Peller has been publicly and privately hobnobbing with Governor Makinde since May 2019. This is an APC lawmaker that does not only talk down his political party but also recklessly attends PDP functions within and outside Oyo State”.
“Based on intelligence report at my disposal, Shina Peller’s senatorial aspiration on the platform of APC is just a smokescreen to destabilise Oyo APC and demarket me as the governorship candidate of our great party. He is acting a script written by PDP/Makinde”, Folarin alleged.
“It is very unfair that Shina Peller is being used to malign me in order to score cheap political points. He is engaging in a campaign of calumny just because he wants to deputise Governor Makinde in the 2023 elections”.
“I have zero tolerance for libel and slander. Therefore, I have instructed my legal team to take up the defamation of my character by Hon. Shina Peller”, he stated.