Following a viral message purported to provide free buses from Lagos to Imo state citizens by the state government, the government has raised the alarm over the claim and warned people to avoid it.
The statement circulated across WhatsApp groups claimed that a free bus would be available on December 24th and January 4th but only accessible upon registration. It added that passengers would not be allowed to alight until after Ihiala in Anambra state, which shares a boundary with Imo state.
Part of the statement read, “The buses are free for Imolites from *Lagos to Imo State on *24th December* and back to Lagos on *4th January. Interested persons should please call *(ISTDAL)* *08033255565, 08092362966* or *07089303866* for seat reservation”.
However, in a swift reaction, Governor Hope Uzodimma’s spokesperson, Oguwike Nwachuku, stated on Sunday that the state government denied any such activity and warned against it.
Nwachuku said fraudsters were behind the message, saying, “A group of persons believed to be fraudsters, poised to take advantage of the massive return of Imo indigenes resident in Lagos for the Yuletide, has devised devious means to defraud the unsuspected ones among them in the guise of providing them with free transportation from Lagos to Owerri, Okigwe, and Orlu.
“To avoid doubt, the Office of the Chief Press Secretary/Special Adviser Media to the Governor did not state the trending fraudulent travel plan. The statement is false, deceptive, and could not have emanated from the government.
“Therefore, the general public, particularly Imolites who live in Lagos and any other part of the country and who intend to be home for the Yuletide should not take the statement and the authors seriously as they will be doing so at their peril”.
According to him, fraudsters deliberately attempted to defraud people and warn them against adherence.
LEADERSHIP reports that the first statement has already been widely circulated, especially in community WhatsApp groups, to the admiration of people desirous of spending the Yuletide in Imo state.
