Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, has had his campaign organisation explain a viral video showing a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on his lap during a visit to his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026.
The campaign team said the student was among members of the institution’s Department of Banking and Finance who visited Alli to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview with the governorship candidate.
Also read: Federal workers demand ₦300,000 minimum wage
According to the statement issued by the campaign organisation, the students arrived when there were not enough seats to accommodate everyone present.
The campaign team said Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap so that the interview could continue.
The explanation followed widespread circulation of footage showing Alli seated with the student on his lap. The video also shows Alli briefly touching the student’s lap, prompting varied reactions and interpretations across social media.
The campaign organisation rejected suggestions that the encounter had an inappropriate dimension and accused some online platforms of deliberately sexualising what it described as an otherwise ordinary interaction.
According to the team, “the number of people present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving insufficient chairs for everyone.”
It described Alli’s decision as “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture”, insisting that the interaction carried 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 controversy highlights the growing sensitivity surrounding political figures and informal interactions in an era when short video clips can rapidly circulate without their original context.
The campaign team argued that the footage should be understood within the circumstances in which it was recorded, rather than through interpretations attached to it after it spread online.
It said people familiar with Alli’s relationship with young people would understand his disposition towards students and his approach to youth engagement.
“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,” the team stated.
The organisation also appealed to media outlets and social media users to exercise greater caution when reporting or commenting on the footage.
It warned that sensational interpretations and innuendo could unfairly damage reputations, particularly when short clips are circulated without the surrounding circumstances.
The incident comes as political activity intensifies in Oyo State ahead of the 2027 governorship contest, with parties expected to increasingly focus on public engagement, policy proposals and candidate visibility.
The APC campaign organisation said the election should instead be centred on “ideas, competence, development and the welfare of residents”.
Also read: Federal workers demand ₦300,000 minimum wage
For now, the campaign’s explanation has sought to shift attention from the viral footage itself to the circumstances surrounding the students’ visit, while firmly rejecting interpretations that suggest improper conduct by the APC candidate.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
