Shina Peller: Why I didn’t seek second term in house of reps

Shina Peller, a member of the house of representatives, has explained why he decided to contest a seat in the senate instead of seeking another term in the green chamber.

Peller, who currently represents lseyin/ltesiwaju/Kajola/lwajowa federal constituency, came a distant third in the Oyo north senatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He polled five votes, while Abdulfatai Buhari, the current senator representing Oyo north, won the primary with 570 votes.

Speaking on what led to his decision, the lawmaker, in a post on his social media pages, said he opted to run for a senatorial seat to satisfy the “overall benefits” of his constituency.

He also said he wanted to give room to people of Kajola and Iwajowa LGAs to produce a federal representative in the constituency.

“Many people wonder why I chose not to return to the house of representatives for the second term. For the sake of integrity, my decision is based on my consideration of other local governments within my constituency- Kajola and Iwajowa who haven’t presented a representative for almost 16 years now,” he wrote.

“Returning to the house for the second term will mean denying them the opportunity to present a representative for twenty years. By 2023, when I will be completing my first term as a member of the house of representatives. It will make it sixteen (16) uninterrupted years that Iseyin/Itesiwaju have been producing representatives for the constituency leaving out the people from Kajola/Iwajowa.

“My people from Kajola/Iwajowa feel the people from Iseyin haven’t been fair enough to them in this regard, and I share their pain.

“This was why I made up my mind to throw my weight behind choosing a qualified person from Kajola/Iwajowa to represent our federal constituency in 2023, while I am yielding the call of my people from Oke Ogun to opt for the Oyo North Senatorial District seat.

“And I cannot be seen leading the liberation of Oke Ogun people and not fair to the local govts within my constituency.

“So, to those that feel I should return to the House of Reps, it’s not all about me alone; it’s about putting into consideration my integrity and overall interest of all.”