The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Senator Teslim Folarin has debunked a news report of an assassination attempt by him on Hon. Shina Peller representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa federal constituency.
Shina Peller in a video clip 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.
The statement read in part:
“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 attend 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”
“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”.
“While I am urging the public to disregard the false allegation, I urge the law enforcement agencies to immediately investigate the serious allegation against my person with a view to letting the world know what transpired between him and the people he claimed to have personally arrested. Nigerians deserve to know the truth!”
“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”.