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 female student of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, sitting on his lap.

The clarification followed widespread reactions to the video, which captured Alli interacting with students who had reportedly visited his campaign office in Mokola, Ibadan.

According to the campaign organisation, the students, who were from the institution’s Department of Banking and Finance, had visited the senator to invite him to their programme and conduct an interview with him.

The campaign team explained that the number of students who attended the meeting exceeded the available seating capacity, leaving some of them without chairs.

It said Alli subsequently invited one of the students to sit on his lap because there were not enough seats.

The campaign organisation described the action as spontaneous and “fatherly,” insisting that it had no inappropriate motive.

“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 team said.

The video generated controversy after Alli was also seen briefly touching the student’s lap, prompting some social media users to attach different interpretations to the encounter.

However, the campaign organisation rejected what it described as attempts to sexualise the interaction, accusing some online platforms of deliberately presenting the incident in a misleading manner.

“Those who know Senator Sharafadeen Alli understand his disposition towards young people and his fatherly relationship with them. There is no basis whatsoever for the offensive insinuations being attached to this video,” it stated.

The campaign team urged members of the public to disregard what it called “misleading narratives” surrounding the footage, maintaining that the incident had been taken out of context.

The controversy comes as Alli continues his campaign for the Oyo State governorship election under the APC, with political activities in the state gathering momentum.