The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has explained the circumstances surrounding a viral video in which a female student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was seen sitting on the politician’s lap.
The campaign team said the incident occurred during a visit by students of the institution’s Department of Banking and Finance to Alli’s campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.
According to the organisation, the students had gone to the office to invite the former senator to their programme and conduct an interview with him.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the campaign said the number of students and other people at the meeting exceeded the available seating capacity.
It said Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap to enable the interview to continue.
“The number of people present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving insufficient chairs for everyone,” the campaign organisation stated.
The video, which was later circulated on social media, generated controversy over the interaction between Alli and the student.
Some social media users questioned the appropriateness of the scene, particularly after the footage showed the APC candidate briefly caressing the student’s lap.
But the campaign organisation dismissed suggestions of any improper conduct, insisting that the incident had been taken out of context.
It described Alli’s action as a “spontaneous and fatherly gesture” and accused some online platforms of deliberately presenting the incident in a sexualised manner.
“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 statement said.
The campaign team maintained that Alli had no inappropriate intention and urged members of the public not to attach meanings to the video that were not supported by the circumstances surrounding the visit.
“Those who know Senator Sharafadeen Alli understand his disposition towards young people and his fatherly relationship with them. There is no basis whatsoever for the offensive insinuations being attached to this video,” it added.
The organisation also appealed to journalists and social media users to exercise responsibility in reporting the incident, warning against sensationalism and the spread of narratives capable of damaging reputations.
It accused unnamed political opponents of attempting to exploit the video ahead of the 2027 governorship election in the state.
The campaign organisation said the election should instead be about competing ideas and programmes for the development of Oyo State.
It urged political actors to focus on competence, governance, development and the welfare of residents rather than what it described as “cheap political blackmail.”
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