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 offered to chosen get together youth leaders, earlier than deleting the post about three hours later.
Mr Israel posted the video on his X account on Sunday, saying the autos have been supposed to assist the mobilisation actions of the beneficiaries forward of the 2027 normal 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 price of the autos and the choice to deploy such assets for political mobilisation amid the financial hardship within the nation.
One X person, @iamchibuzoree, questioned the distinction between the autos and the monetary difficulties dealing with public establishments and extraordinary Nigerians.
The person cited the shortcoming of the federal government to meet some calls for of well being staff and supply enough assist for residents fighting excessive residing 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 person wrote.
“SUDDENLY found money to buy a CONVOY of brand new 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs?”
The person estimated that the seven autos might price greater than ₦1 billion and argued that the cash might as a substitute assist healthcare, meals help and pupil loans.
Another person, @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 person wrote.
The person additionally criticised the show of pricey autos whereas many Nigerians battle to meet their primary wants.
Similarly, @ayshaHamman questioned the chance price of the autos, asking what number of major healthcare centres could possibly be established with the cash spent on the seven autos.
The person’s query drew consideration to the potential various makes use of of the cash, though the precise buy worth of the autos and the supply of funding weren’t disclosed in Mr Israel’s post.
Another person, @ukocarter, criticised the event towards 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 autos, their precise buy worth and whether or not they have been acquired with get together funds, privately donated or supplied by means of one other association.
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