Professor of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, has slammed the All Progressives Congress (APC) for giving selected youth leaders luxury SUVs reportedly worth billions of naira, contrasting the expenditure with the low salaries paid to Nigerian soldiers.
Naija News reports that Utomi’s reaction followed a video shared online by APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, showing brand-new 2026 Toyota Prado SUVs presented to selected youth leaders to support mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In the post via his X handle, Israel also expressed optimism that the youth leaders will deliver their polling units.
He said: “Today, I presented brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities.
“The party is supreme and that supremacy will show in our action in this election period, we will deliver polling unit by polling unit.”
While Israel has deleted the video from his page following criticisms online, many Nigerians have questioned the timing of the distribution amid economic hardship associated with President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
Reacting via X, Utomi, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), said it was troubling that an APC youth leader could display expensive vehicles at a time Nigerians had been told government funds were limited.
Utomi also said the money could have been better used, particularly in the health sector, to purchase ambulances.
He wrote: “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!”
