The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has explained the circumstances surrounding a viral video showing a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, seated on his lap during a visit to his campaign office.
The video, which has circulated widely on social media, shows Alli seated with a student on his lap during an interaction with a group of students. In the footage, he also briefly touched the student’s lap, prompting mixed reactions and speculation among social media users.
Responding to the controversy, Alli’s campaign organisation said the encounter had been taken out of context and insisted that there was no inappropriate motive behind the interaction.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, the students, who were from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, visited Alli’s campaign office in the Mokola area of Ibadan to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview with him.
The campaign organisation said the number of students who attended the visit exceeded the available seating capacity at the office.
It explained that, in an attempt to continue the engagement despite the limited seating, Alli asked one of the students to sit on his lap.
The explanation came after the video generated considerable discussion online, with some users questioning the nature of the interaction between the politician and the student.
The campaign organisation, however, rejected suggestions that the encounter had any sexual or inappropriate undertone.
“It is deeply unfortunate that political desperation has descended to this level, where an ordinary interaction between a fatherly political leader and students who came to seek support for their programme is deliberately twisted into something sordid,” the campaign said.
It described Alli’s action as “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture”, arguing that people familiar with the senator’s relationship with young people would understand the context of the interaction.
The campaign also accused critics of deliberately attempting to “sexualise” the encounter and attach meanings to the video that, according to the organisation, were not present when the interaction took place.
It urged members of the public to disregard what it described as false narratives arising from the circulation of the video.
The organisation further appealed to media outlets and social media users to exercise caution in reporting or sharing material capable of damaging the reputation of individuals.
The controversy comes as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State.
The campaign maintained that the election should be centred on issues affecting residents, including development, competence and governance, rather than what it described as “cheap political blackmail”.
The viral footage has nevertheless continued to attract attention online, with reactions divided between those who accepted the campaign’s explanation and those who questioned the appropriateness of the interaction.
Alli, a serving senator and the APC’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, is expected to continue his campaign activities as the party prepares for the 2027 election.
