Oyo APC Campaign Explains Viral Video of Student Sitting on Guber Candidate Ali LAPS
By Aliyu Oyewole
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 student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on his lap.
The footage, which surfaced online and generated reactions on social media, showed Alli seated with a male student on his lap during an interaction.
The development prompted questions from some social media users over the nature of the encounter, particularly after the video showed Alli appearing to touch the student’s lap.
However, Alli’s campaign organisation has dismissed suggestions of an inappropriate motive, describing the incident as an ordinary interaction that had been taken out of context.
In a statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday, the campaign said the student was among a group of students from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, who visited Alli at his campaign office in Mokola.
According to the campaign, the students were at the office to invite the APC candidate to their programme and conduct an interview with him.
The organisation said the number of students present exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving some of them without chairs.
It claimed that Alli subsequently asked one of the students to sit on his lap so that the interview could continue.
The campaign described the action as a “spontaneous and fatherly gesture”, insisting that there was no inappropriate intention behind it.
The statement followed growing reactions to the video, with some online platforms and social media users interpreting the interaction differently.
The campaign condemned what it described as attempts to sexualise the encounter, arguing that such interpretations were misleading and politically motivated.
“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.
It urged members of the public to disregard what it described as misleading narratives surrounding the footage.
The campaign also called on media organisations and social media users to exercise caution in reporting the incident, warning against sensationalism and innuendo capable of damaging reputations.
It said those familiar with Alli’s relationship with young people and students would understand the context of the encounter, insisting that there was no basis for the insinuations being circulated.
The campaign further argued that the controversy should not distract from substantive issues ahead of the 2027 Oyo State governorship election.
It urged political actors and residents to focus on ideas, competence, development and the welfare of the people of Oyo State.
Independent reports have confirmed that the campaign issued the statement and that the explanation was made following the circulation of the video. However, the campaign’s account of why the student sat on Alli’s lap remains an assertion by the candidate’s team, while the short video itself does not independently establish the intention behind the interaction.
