Oyo State Senator and All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, has come under criticism following the emergence of a video showing him carrying a young man on his lap during a meeting with students.
The video, which went viral on social media, initially attracted amusement from Nigerians. However, reactions intensified after the young man was identified as a student representative of the Banking and Finance Students’ Association at the Ibadan Polytechnic.
The incident reportedly occurred when a group of students met with Alli to seek support for their programme.
In the video, the student is seen sitting on the Senator’s lap while reading questions from his phone. He appears tense as he engages Alli in the discussion.
At one point, Alli is seen placing his hand on the student’s thigh while responding to a question about unemployment and how he would tackle the issue if elected governor.
“Well, you’re going to use what you have to get what you want, to leverage on whatever we have in the state,” Alli said.
The footage has since sparked a heated debate online, with critics describing the interaction as inappropriate and accusing the Senator of abusing his position.
Some social media users also questioned why the student remained in the situation without objecting, while others defended him, arguing that he appeared uncomfortable and was in a less powerful position given the circumstances.
The revelation that the young man was a student representative further fuelled the backlash, with some Nigerians expressing concern over the power imbalance between the politician and the student.
The controversy comes as Alli, a former Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, seeks the APC ticket to contest the Oyo State governorship election.
As of the time of filing this report, Alli had not publicly addressed the backlash surrounding the video.
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