The Lagos State Government, on Thursday, disowned the viral video, where some uniformed impostors were promoting the sale of branded wastebaskets purportedly on behalf of the state.

A statement signed by the State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, noted that the persons in the viral video were fraudsters who do not represent the government or any of its agencies.

Bello affirmed that there is no unit or agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources – Lagos State Vehicle Waste Basket (LAVWAB) Enforcement/Compliance as portrayed in the branded vehicle which the fraudsters claim to be representing.

While noting that the government had always encouraged all buses, trucks and articulated vehicles to provide wastebaskets in their vehicles to discourage littering of the roads and streets, Bello maintained that the present administration has never recommended any branded wastebasket.

The commissioner said the development has been communicated to security agents to apprehend the criminals and their cohorts, wherever they operated from, and bring them to book.

Bello, therefore, enjoined members of the public to report any incident of anyone claiming to represent the government and coercing them to purchase any particular brand of wastebaskets for placement in their vehicles.

The commissioner also implored owners and operators of buses, trucks and articulated vehicles in the state to continue to use wastebaskets of their choice in their vehicles, as part of efforts to discourage littering and promoting a culture of proper waste disposal. (The Guardian)