By Elegbede Abiodun
The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has reacted to a viral video showing a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on his lap during an interaction at his campaign office.
The campaign team said the incident was a misunderstanding that had been taken out of context, insisting that there was no inappropriate motive behind the encounter.
According to a statement released on Wednesday, the students, who were from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, visited Alli’s office in Mokola, Ibadan, to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview with him.
The campaign said the number of students present exceeded the available seating capacity, forcing Alli to ask one of the students to sit on his lap so the engagement could continue.
The explanation followed widespread reactions after the video circulated online, with some social media users questioning the interaction between the politician and the student.
In the footage, Alli was seen with the student seated on his lap, while he also briefly touched the student’s lap, a gesture that triggered different interpretations online.
However, the campaign team condemned what it described as attempts to “sexualise” the encounter, accusing critics of attaching misleading meanings to an ordinary interaction.
“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.
The team described Alli’s action as “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture”, adding that those familiar with the senator’s relationship with young people understood his character.
It urged Nigerians to disregard what it called false narratives surrounding the video, while calling on media organisations and social media users to avoid spreading content capable of damaging reputations.
The campaign maintained that the 2027 Oyo governorship election should be focused on development, competence and issues affecting residents rather than what it described as “cheap political blackmail.”
