Lockdown: Sanwo-Olu sidelines COVID-19 poll, reveals other factors

Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says results of its online polls conducted recently would not be used to decide if the state would be locked down again over the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would be recalled that the state government had set up a poll via its twitter handle and Facebook page on Wednesday.

Lagos State Government threatened to revert to full lockdown if there is no improvement in adherence to the public health guidelines. The government noted that in the first week of the easing of the lockdown, there had been a repetitive and flagrant disregard for the earlier announced health guidelines, a move that could frustrate the government’s efforts to contain the virus.

In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Olusina Thorpe, the government would look into some other factors to decide whether to impose another lockdown in the state or not.

Thorpe said that the initiative was introduced as part of the inclusive strategy of the state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration to carry the masses along and entrench participatory governance.

He said, “Yes, we agree that the decision of the government on another statewide lockdown should not be solely based on the outcome of the polls, but criticisms that had trailed the issue will make the government feel the pulse of the masses being governed.

“As evident on the three social media platforms, some of the online users voted in favour of another lockdown while some voted against it and a few others remain neutral.

“On our Facebook as at Thursday morning, those who voted against fresh lockdown are more than those who voted in favour of it. While on Twitter, the reverse was the case.”

According to Thorpe, with the wide exposure of the masses to the social media, the value of online survey could not be undermined in the decision-making process.

“This was especially when such decision affected the populace, hence the need to also know what the masses felt about the issue of the lockdown,” he said.