A viral video showing Senator Adams Oshiomhole inside a luxury private jet with a woman whose foot he was seen touching has continued to generate widespread reactions across social media.
Investigations by Chronicles Reporters have established that the woman in the footage is not the senator’s wife, contrary to early speculation online. Initial claims on social media had suggested she was Oshiomhole’s wife, Iara Fortes, a Cape Verdean lawyer and former model.
However, findings indicate that the woman is a South African social media personality and lifestyle influencer who operates online under the TikTok name @leshaandagama and a former Instagram account @leshaan_dagama. On her social media profiles, she publicly describes herself as a “professional sugar baby,” a label that has further intensified public debate surrounding the video.
The short clip, which began circulating widely on Monday, shows the former Edo State governor seated in a private jet while interacting closely with the woman. The footage has reignited conversations about political privilege, elite lifestyles, and public accountability, particularly amid Nigeria’s ongoing economic challenges.
Many social media users have questioned the optics of a serving senator openly displaying luxury at a time when millions of Nigerians are struggling with rising living costs.
Oshiomhole’s background has added another layer to the controversy. Once a factory worker, he rose through the ranks of organised labour, becoming General Secretary of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers in 1982. He later emerged as President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), where he gained national prominence leading protests against fuel price hikes.
He entered partisan politics in 2007 as the Action Congress governorship candidate in Edo State. Although he initially lost the election, court rulings overturned the results in 2008, declaring him winner. He served two terms as governor between 2008 and 2016.
In 2018, Oshiomhole became National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) but was suspended by his party in 2019, a decision later upheld by the courts. He returned to electoral politics in 2022 and won the APC senatorial ticket for Edo North, before being declared winner of the 2023 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
More recently, the senator was involved in a public disagreement with airline officials at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos in June 2025 after missing a scheduled flight to Abuja. The airline involved later accused him of disruptive conduct, an allegation that also circulated widely online.
As of the time of filing this report, Senator Oshiomhole has not issued any public statement addressing the private jet video or the identity of the woman involved.