The campaign team of Oyo State APC governorship candidate Senator Sharafadeen Alli has explained why a student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, was seen sitting on his lap in a video that went viral.

The team said the students had visited his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.

According to the campaign, the students from the Department of Banking and Finance came to invite Alli to their programme and conduct an interview. When they arrived, there were not enough seats for everyone present.

Alli then asked one of the students to sit on his lap so the interview could continue without delay. The campaign described the action as a spontaneous and fatherly gesture with no inappropriate intention.

The explanation came after the video circulated online and drew mixed reactions. In the footage, Alli was also seen briefly touching the student’s lap, a moment some social media users interpreted in different ways. The campaign condemned attempts to give the interaction a sexual meaning, calling such views misleading and politically motivated.

The team urged the public to ignore what it described as twisted narratives. It said those who know Alli understand his fatherly relationship with young people and called for the 2027 election campaign to focus on ideas, competence and development rather than sensational claims.

Photo credit: Punch Newspaper