Why Oyo student sat on APC gov candidate’s lap — Campaign team

The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has explained why a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was seen sitting on his lap in a viral video.

The campaign said 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 interview him.

In a statement issued on Wednesday and uploaded on its website, the campaign team said the students arrived at a time when the available seats were insufficient for everyone, prompting Alli to ask one of the students to sit on his lap so the interview could proceed.

The explanation followed the circulation of the video online, which has attracted reactions over the interaction between Alli and the student. In the footage, Alli was also seen briefly caressing the student’s lap, a gesture that some social media users interpreted in different ways.

The campaign team, however, condemned 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 said Alli’s decision was “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture” and maintained that there was no inappropriate intention behind the action.

“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.

It urged the public to disregard what it described as misleading narratives surrounding the footage.

“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.

It also called on media organisations and social media users to exercise responsibility in reporting the incident, arguing that digital platforms should not be used to damage reputations through sensationalism and innuendo.

The campaign team urged the public to reject what it described as “cheap political blackmail”, saying the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State should focus on ideas, competence, development and the welfare of residents.