The campaign office of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship hopeful in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has reacted to a controversial video involving the politician and a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
The recording recently gained traction across social media after showing a student seated on Alli’s lap during a meeting at his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.
Following the reactions generated by the footage, the candidate’s campaign organisation issued a statement on Wednesday, providing details of what it said occurred before the video was recorded.
The team explained that the student was among a delegation from the Department of Banking and Finance at The Polytechnic, Ibadan. According to the campaign, the students had gone to Alli’s office to extend an invitation to him to attend an upcoming departmental event and also take part in an interview.
The organisation said the meeting attracted several students, but the number of people in attendance exceeded the seating capacity at the office.
As a result, some of the visitors were reportedly left without chairs. The campaign claimed that, in an effort to continue the discussion despite the limited space, Alli asked one of the students to sit on his lap.
The explanation was published on the campaign organisation’s official website.
The video nevertheless sparked debate online, with several social media users questioning the nature of the interaction. Some viewers also drew attention to a moment when Alli appeared to touch the student’s lap.
Responding to the criticism, the campaign organisation dismissed suggestions that the incident had any sexual or inappropriate dimension.
The team accused individuals and platforms circulating the footage of removing the encounter from its original context and deliberately attaching an offensive interpretation to it.
It argued that the politician’s action was simply an instinctive response to the seating shortage and described the gesture as one that reflected his perceived paternal attitude towards young people.
The campaign organisation said attempts to turn the incident into a scandal were politically motivated and designed to discredit Alli ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
It further argued that those familiar with the senator’s public interactions with younger people would understand the nature of his relationship with students and youths.
The organisation maintained that there was no justification for the allegations being circulated and urged members of the public to disregard what it described as distorted versions of the incident.
It also appealed to journalists, bloggers and social media commentators to exercise restraint when reporting sensitive incidents, stressing that incomplete presentations of events could unfairly damage a person’s reputation.
The campaign warned against using social media as a tool for political character assassination, particularly as preparations intensify for the next governorship election in Oyo State.
Rather than focusing on the viral footage, the organisation called for public discussions around issues affecting residents of the state.
It said the 2027 contest should be centred on the candidates’ programmes, leadership records, administrative capacity, economic opportunities, infrastructure and the general wellbeing of citizens.
The campaign team concluded by rejecting what it described as an attempt to use the viral recording as political propaganda and urged voters to judge Alli based on his policies, experience and plans for Oyo State.
In this time and age, we all should be aware of how important optics are in politics. If he has a campaign strategist in his team that person should use the door cos they would have known no good could come out of an adult male, lapping another adult male and then forgetfully stroking his thighs.
Bad Visual management and an even worse cover job.