Many Nigerians have criticised the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, after he shared a video exhibiting seven new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs introduced to chosen occasion youth leaders, earlier than deleting the post about three hours later.
Mr Israel posted the video on his X account on Sunday, saying the automobiles have been meant to assist the mobilisation actions of the beneficiaries forward of the 2027 common elections.
“Today, I presented brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities,” he wrote.
He additionally expressed gratitude to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for her “continuous support to the party structure” below his management.
“The party is supreme and that supremacy will show in our action in this election period – we will deliver polling unit by polling unit,” he added.
The post triggered offended reactions from Nigerians, a lot of whom questioned the reported value of the automobiles and the choice to deploy such sources for political mobilisation amid the financial hardship within the nation.
One X consumer, @iamchibuzoree, questioned the distinction between the automobiles and the monetary difficulties dealing with public establishments and strange Nigerians.
The consumer cited the lack of the federal government to meet some calls for of well being staff and supply enough assist for residents fighting excessive dwelling prices.
“A government that told us there is NO MONEY to pay striking doctors. NO MONEY to pay nurses, lab scientists, medical personnel who are saving lives with empty stomachs,” the consumer wrote.
“SUDDENLY found money to buy a CONVOY of brand new 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs?”
The consumer estimated that the seven automobiles might value greater than ₦1 billion and argued that the cash might as a substitute assist healthcare, meals help and scholar loans.
Another consumer, @ogundamisi, stated the video illustrated what he described as a rising disconnect between political leaders and Nigerians dealing with financial hardship.
“For context, @dayoisrael is the youth leader of Nigeria’s ruling APC, the same party whose president, Tinubu, is asking Nigerians to endure more suffering,” the consumer wrote.
The consumer additionally criticised the show of pricy automobiles whereas many Nigerians battle to meet their primary wants.
Similarly, @ayshaHamman questioned the chance value of the automobiles, asking what number of major healthcare centres may very well be established with the cash spent on the seven automobiles.
The consumer’s query drew consideration to the potential different makes use of of the cash, though the precise buy worth of the automobiles and the supply of funding weren’t disclosed in Mr Israel’s post.
Another consumer, @ukocarter, criticised the event in opposition to the backdrop of the financial difficulties dealing with Nigerians, whereas @harmlessHQ drew a comparability between the automobile presentation and President Bola Tinubu’s remarks on the nation’s financial challenges.
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“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,” @harmlessHQ wrote.
Deletes post after backlash
Mr Israel deleted the post about three hours after publishing it, following the criticism on X.
However, the deletion didn’t finish the controversy, as screenshots and recordings of the video continued to flow into on the platform.
Mr Israel didn’t present a public clarification for deleting the post as of the time of this report.
It was additionally unclear who paid for the automobiles, their actual buy worth and whether or not they have been acquired with occasion funds, privately donated or supplied by means of one other association.
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