Parliament Spotlight: Senator Teslim Folarin

He is the first lawmaker from his state to be elected thrice to the Red Chamber. Parliament Spotlight this week is on Teslim Folarin, representing Oyo Central Senatorial District and one of the legislators in the Ninth Assembly seeking the top seat at his/her State Government House

Having spent over two decades in politics, 59-year-old Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin would be attempting to win his fifth election since 2003, including the 2015 governorship poll, where he lost as a candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).

Senator Folarin, who is currently Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content had previously served as Majority Leader of the Legislative Chamber. In this piece, we examine his legislative profile, major achievements, as well as controversies in his political career this far.

LEGISLATIVE PROFILE

Lawmaker representing Oyo Central Senatorial District (2003 – 2007)
People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Lawmaker representing Oyo Central Senatorial District (2007 – 2011)
People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
Senate Majority Leader
6th National Assembly
Lawmaker representing Oyo Central Senatorial District (2019 – date)
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content
9th National Assembly

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS (LEGISLATURE)

First elected to the Senate in 2003 at age 39.
Senator Folarin is the only Senator in Oyo State to have been elected thrice to serve at the Red Chamber.
As Leader of the Senate, he sponsored the Insurance Act, Armed Forces Pension Act and several others.

MAJOR CONTROVERSIES

In January 2011, the lawmaker was arraigned before a Magistrate Court, Ibadan over the murder of Alhaji Lateef Salako, a.k.a Eleweomo; a former factional leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Oyo State Branch.
READ ALSO: 2022 Review: Major controversies that rocked the National Assembly

POLITICAL PROFILE (ELECTIVE)