SOLDIERS EARN PEANUTS, APC YOUTH LEADER FLAUNTS BILLION-NAIRA SUVS — UTOMI

Professor Pat Utomi has criticised the distribution of luxury vehicles to selected All Progressives Congress youth leaders, questioning the spending while Nigerian soldiers receive what he described as poor salaries.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress chieftain made the remarks on X on Sunday after APC National Youth Leader Dayo Israel shared a video showing brand-new 2026 Toyota Prado SUVs.

Israel said the vehicles were presented to selected youth leaders to support election mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Utomi argued that the display was difficult to reconcile with claims that government resources were limited.

“Nigerian soldiers are being paid peanuts as salaries, yet an APC youth leader is flaunting SUVs worth billions of naira,” he wrote.

In a separate post, he questioned whether the money could have served more urgent needs, particularly healthcare. He estimated that each vehicle cost more than ₦100 million and asked how many ambulances the expenditure could have purchased.

Israel, in his post, thanked First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for supporting the party’s youth structure and pledged to mobilise voters at polling units.

The video, which was later deleted, attracted criticism from social media users concerned about the distribution amid economic hardship.

The information provided did not establish the vehicles’ total purchase price or how they were funded.