The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has explained the circumstances surrounding a viral video showing a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on his lap.
According to the campaign team, the student and other students from the institution’s Department of Banking and Finance had visited Alli at his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan, to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview with him.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and published on its website, the campaign organisation said the students arrived when there were not enough seats for everyone.
It explained that Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap so that the interview could continue.
The clarification came after the video circulated widely online, generating reactions over the interaction between the politician and the student. In the footage, Alli was also seen briefly caressing the student’s lap, a gesture that prompted different interpretations among social media users.
The campaign team, however, criticised attempts by some online platforms to sexualise the interaction, describing such interpretations as misleading and politically motivated.
According to the campaign team, “the number of people present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving insufficient chairs for everyone.”
It added that Alli’s decision was “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture” and insisted that the action had no inappropriate intention.
“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 team said.
The organisation urged members of the public to disregard what it described as misleading narratives surrounding the video.
“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 stated.
The campaign team also appealed to media organisations and social media users to exercise responsibility when reporting the incident.
It argued that digital platforms should not be used to damage individuals’ reputations through sensationalism and innuendo.
The organisation further urged the public to reject what it described as “cheap political blackmail”, insisting that the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State should be centred on ideas, competence, development and the welfare of residents.