Nigerians are seriously reeling with anger over the donation of SUVs worth over N100 million to the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, youth leaders across the country.
The development comes on the heels of the ruling party’s drive for votes in the upcoming 2027 election. Not a few Nigerians have condemned the party’s non-performance for three years, saying it will need to do more to return to power next year.
According to the APC, the vehicles were donated to performing APC youth leaders to make them work harder for the party to secure victory in the election.
Announcing the donations to the party’s youth leaders, APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, said in a post he shared on his verified social media platform that the Prado SUVs were meant to support them to mobilise votes ahead of the election.
The APC National Youth Leader stated that the youth leaders had been given the mandate to deliver their wards and polling units for the party during the 2027 election.
“Today, I presented brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities,” Israel said in the post.
The idea appears not to have gone down well with many Nigerians, who said it was the wrong timing, when the country is facing serious economic challenges and many Nigerians are finding it difficult to feed their families.
It also comes at a time when angry Nigerians have slammed the government and its officials for living in opulence while ordinary Nigerians have been urged to tighten their belts.
Reacting, a chieftain of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. Pat Utomi, criticised the party for donating the SUVs to its youth leaders when members of the nation’s armed forces are being paid peanuts as salaries.
The NDC chieftain said the government was taking Nigerians for a ride, going by the manner its officials are flaunting their wealth while other Nigerians are hardly pulling through due to the challenging economic situation in the country.
Utomi said the funds expended to buy the SUVs could have been used to provide critical social services that would benefit Nigerians, such as acquiring ambulances for use in the nation’s hospitals.
Utomi said: “Nigerian soldiers are being paid peanuts as salaries, yet an APC youth leader is flaunting SUVs worth billions of naira. This is the same government that told Nigerians there was no longer money in the treasury. At this point, they must think we are fools!
“Each of the SUVs in this video costs more than ₦100 million. I wonder how many world-class ambulances the millions being spent on these vehicles could buy. What a pity!”
Other Nigerians have also expressed their anger over the donations, wondering whether this is the right thing for the party to do at a time of serious hardship in the country.
Expressing their indignation on various social media platforms, they condemned the government for using huge funds that should have been used to provide basic services in the country, such as healthcare, security and roads, to purchase utility vehicles for party officials.
Some users also questioned the source of funding for the vehicles, while others compared the expenditure with the challenges facing the country’s healthcare sector and security personnel.
Venting his anger on his X platform, @Unkleayo condemned the ruling party for squandering the nation’s commonwealth, wondering whether the SUVs were a priority at this time.
“This is what you bastards are doing with our commonwealth,” the user wrote, adding that the development raised questions about the country’s priorities.
Also, an X user, @HarmlessHQ, criticised the government, saying the APC was donating expensive vehicles to party officials after creating serious hunger in the country.
“Yesterday in Kaduna, Tinubu was blaming the opposition for the hunger and hardship in the country. Today, Dayo Israel, APC youth leader, is casually dashing out 2026 Prado SUV to his fellow youth leaders,” the user said.
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