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 female student sitting on the politician’s lap.
The video, which has generated widespread reactions on social media, showed the student sitting on Alli’s lap during an interaction at his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.
In the footage, the APC governorship candidate was also seen making a brief gesture towards the student’s lap, prompting different interpretations and reactions from social media users.
However, the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation has dismissed suggestions of inappropriate conduct, describing the incident as an innocent interaction that was being misrepresented for political reasons.
According to a statement issued by the campaign team on Wednesday, the student was among a group of students from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, who visited Alli to invite him to a programme and conduct an interview with him.
The campaign organisation explained that the number of visitors exceeded the available seating capacity at the office, resulting in insufficient chairs for everyone present.
It said Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap to enable the interview and interaction to proceed.
The campaign team described the action as spontaneous and fatherly, insisting that there was no inappropriate intention behind the gesture.“The number of people present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving insufficient chairs for everyone,” the statement said.
It accused some online platforms and political opponents of deliberately sexualising the interaction and creating misleading narratives around the viral footage.
According to the campaign organisation, the incident was an ordinary interaction between the APC candidate and students who visited him to seek support for their programme.
The team urged members of the public to disregard what it described as politically motivated attempts to damage Alli’s reputation.
It also called on media organisations and social media users to exercise restraint and responsibility when reporting or sharing content online.
The campaign organisation maintained that the focus of the 2027 Oyo State governorship election should be on leadership capacity, development, competence and the welfare of residents rather than what it described as political blackmail.
Senator Alli is the APC governorship candidate ahead of the 2027 Oyo State governorship election.
