Soldiers earn peanuts, APC youth leader flaunts billion-naira SUVs — Utomi

Professor Pat Utomi has criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the distribution of luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to selected youth leaders, contrasting the expenditure with what he described as poor salaries paid to Nigerian soldiers. 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 that government funds were limited.

In a post on X on Sunday, Utomi 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!” In another post, the professor questioned whether the money spent on the vehicles could have been put to better use, particularly in the health sector.

“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!” he wrote. The comments followed a video posted by APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, showing brand-new 2026 Toyota Prado SUVs he said were presented to selected youth leaders to support election mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“Today, I presented brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities,” Israel wrote. He also expressed gratitude to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for what he described as her continued support for the party’s structure under his leadership. “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 video, which has since been deleted, drew criticism from Nigerians on social media, with some questioning the timing of the vehicle distribution amid the economic hardship associated with the Tinubu administration’s reforms. Utomi’s remarks add to the criticism surrounding the display, with the NDC chieftain raising questions about public spending priorities and the cost of the vehicles.