Controversy Over Viral Video: Alli’s Camp Explains Lap Encounter With Student

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 the politician with a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan.

The footage, which has generated reactions on social media, showed a female student sitting on Alli’s lap during an interaction at his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.

The campaign team, however, dismissed suggestions of any inappropriate conduct, describing the incident as a misunderstanding that was taken out of context.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the campaign organisation said the students, who were from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan, had visited Alli’s office to invite him to their programme and interview him.

According to the team, the number of students at the meeting exceeded the available seating capacity, prompting Alli to ask one of the students to sit on his lap so that the engagement could continue.

The explanation followed widespread reactions to the video, with some social media users questioning the nature of the interaction between the politician and the student.

The campaign team condemned what it described as attempts to give the encounter a sexual interpretation, insisting that the senator’s action was a spontaneous and fatherly gesture.

“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.

The team urged members of the public to disregard what it described as misleading narratives surrounding the video.

It also appealed to media organisations and social media users to exercise caution in sharing such content, warning against publications capable of damaging individuals’ reputations.

The campaign organisation said the controversy should not distract attention from issues ahead of the 2027 Oyo State governorship election, which it said should centre on development, competence and policies capable of improving the lives of residents.

The APC campaign team maintained that attempts to turn the incident into political controversy amounted to “cheap political blackmail” and urged voters to focus on the candidates’ programmes and records.