The campaign organisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has explained a viral video showing a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on the politician’s lap.
The video, which surfaced online on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, generated widespread reactions, with some social media users questioning the nature of the interaction between Alli and the student.
In the footage, the student is seen seated on Alli’s lap during an interaction at the senator’s campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan. Alli was also seen briefly touching the student’s thigh, further fuelling reactions online.
However, in a statement issued on Wednesday, Alli’s campaign organisation said the incident had been taken out of context and described it as “a spontaneous and fatherly gesture.”
According to the campaign team, the student and other members of the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, had visited Alli to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview.
The team said the number of students present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving some without chairs.
It said Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap so the interview could proceed.
“The number of people present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving insufficient chairs for everyone,” the statement said.
The campaign organisation insisted that there was no inappropriate intention behind the gesture and accused some online platforms of attempting to sexualise the interaction.
It described such interpretations as misleading and politically motivated, urging members of the public and media organisations to consider the full context of the encounter rather than draw conclusions from a brief video clip.
“Unfortunately, political desperation has descended to this level,” the campaign team said.
The controversy comes days after the student, who was identified as a representative of the Banking and Finance Students’ Association, was seen in another portion of the interaction asking Alli questions about unemployment and what he would do if elected governor.
The viral footage has continued to attract debate online, with reactions divided between those who accepted the campaign team’s explanation and those who questioned the appropriateness of the interaction.
