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| Teslim Kolawole Folarin |
Eight years after losing return ticket as a two-term senator and majority leader of the Senate between 2007-2011, Teslim Kolawole Folarin has been declared the winner of the Oyo Central Senatorial election conducted on Saturday.
Folarin, erstwhile chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party dumped the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2017. He won the senatorial ticket of the APC and eventually emerged winner.
He secured victory in six local governments, out of 11 local governments of the Senatorial District; they are, Oluyole, Ọna-ara, Egbeda, Surulere, Ogo-Oluwa, and Lagelu.
The ex-Senate leader defeated his closest opponent, Oyebisi Ilaka of the Peoples Democratic Party with a total votes of 91,080 against PDP’s 83,600 votes.
Folarin also defeated both the incumbent senator of the district and a member of the House of Representatives in Lagelu and Akinyele constituency, Monsurat Sunmonu, of the African Democratic Congress and Temitope Olatoye (Sugar) of the Action Democratic Party.
Declaring him as the winner of the election, Prof Idowu Peter Farai, the Returning Officer of the District announced his fulfillment of the election requirements as the one with the ‘absolute votes’ out of the total votes cast of 286, 995 in the district.
“Teslim Folarin of APC, having certified the requirement of the law, is hereby declared the winner of the Oyo Central Senatorial Elections,” the Returning Officer proclaimed.
Folarin, a godson of late Ibadan colourful politician, Chief Lamidi Adedibu, was in the Senate between 2003 and 2007 and again, between 2007-2011, when he became the leader of the Senate.
He failed in a third term bid in 2011. In 2015, he secured the governorship ticket of the PDP but came a distant fourth.
