IN SHORT: Posts about the Lagos state government reinstating monthly compulsory environmental sanitation exercises have been making rounds on Facebook. But the government has debunked this.
“Lagos state monthly last Saturday environmental sanitation is back, starting from the last Saturday of this month. Please adhere to this, to avoid being embarrassed,” reads a Facebook post published in Nigeria on 17 July 2024.
This refers to sanitation exercises which require Lagos state residents to clean up their surroundings. The exercises aim to improve public health and maintain environmental standards.
This form of sanitation became a priority in the 1980s under Muhammadu Buhari, who was the military head of state from 1983 to 1985 and president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. “Environmental cleanliness” was chosen as the theme for the fifth phase of the Buhari regime’s war against indiscipline.
The sanitation exercise was held on the last Saturday morning of the month and Lagos residents’ movement was restricted during this time. Akinwunmi Ambode, the former governor of Lagos state, cancelled the practice for Lagos in November 2016.
We found the same claims here, here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)
But has the Lagos state government reintroduced a monthly sanitation exercise? We checked.
False information
The Lagos state government clarified that it had not re-introduced the monthly environmental sanitation or any movement restrictions in July 2024.
According to a report by Punch newspaper, the commissioner for environment and water resources, Tokunbo Wahab, debunked the claim. He urged residents to ignore it.
Current state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had reportedly announced a weekly community-based sanitation awareness, where residents would be educated on the importance of sanitation and government officials would join residents in cleaning efforts.
However, there has been no announcement in July 2024 to reintroduce the monthly sanitation exercise that was previously in place.
The false claim has also been published here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
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