SEVERAL images purportedly showing the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have been circulating online in the lead-up to the March 18 gubernatorial election in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, the incumbent governor of Lagos State, is seeking re-election under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
READ : Is Babajide Sanwo-Olu disbursing N20,000 campaign fund per voter in Lagos?
The photos are being circulated with the intention of spreading a narrative that the governor is making unusual moves to win over Lagos voters ahead of Saturday’s poll, following the defeat of the APC in the state during the presidential election held on February 25.
However, checks by The FactCheckHub show that some of these photos are manipulated while few are used in the wrong context to portray Sanwo-Olu in a bad light.
CLAIM 1:
Photo shows Sanwo-Olu is now a dispatch rider.
A Twitter user, @Usman_Haruna, tweeted the photo with a caption that read: No be Sanwo-Olu be this dispatch rider.
Another tweep, Ovo_himself449, tweeted the same photo with another caption thus: “Wait Sanwo-olu don dey do dispatch rider(sic).”
A Facebook user, Priscillia Funkepere Ugbagbe, also posted the photo with caption that read:
“’Sanwo-olu’ Turns Dispatch Rider, Spotted Delivering Shawarma to Lagosian.”
“Me: I can’t believe this one oh. Very unbelievable(sic).”
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.
Extensive search led us to the original video which was uploaded on social media by an Instagram user, @asg.me on March 15, 2023.
READ ALSO : Scam Alert: Viral WhatsApp contact does not belong to Lagos governor, Sanwo-Olu
Further checks on the footage revealed that the video is a comedy skit. In the footage, the dispatch rider later removed his helmet which shows that it’s a different person and not Babajide Sanwo-Olu as claimed in several social media posts.
The image was taken from the comedy skit.
THE VERDICT
The claim that photo shows Babajide Sanwo-Olu as a dispatch rider is FALSE; findings show that the image was extracted from a comedy skit.
CLAIM 2:
Photo shows Sanwo-Olu hawking on the street.
A Twitter user, @boiledmeatpie, tweeted the photo with a caption that read: “No be sanwo olu be this abi my eyes dey pain me.”
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the image has been manipulated.
Using Google Reverse Image search, findings by The FactCheckHub show that the original image was posted on Nairaland since 2015 with a headline: “Kcee hawks recharge cards on the street.”
According to the poster, the photo shows a Nigerian singer, Kingsley Okonkwo, popularly called Kcee, who signed a contract with MTN hawking recharge cards on the street.
THE VERDICT
The claim that the photo shows Sanwo-Olu hawking on the street is MISLEADING; findings show that the image has been online since 2015.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
