Nigerians have continue to express their outrage over the purchase of brand new jeeps
by APC campaign group
This is sequel to the admission of the National Youth Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, that the seven brand-new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs presented to selected party youth leaders were gifts from donors, denying that the vehicles were funded through government allocations or taxpayers’ money.
Israel gave the explanation in an exclusive interview on Monday, October 26, following public condemnation of a video he posted on X showing the vehicles before deleting it approximately three hours later.
Explaining why he removed the video, the APC youth leader said the decision was informed by concerns about public sentiment rather than an intention to conceal wrongdoing.
“It was deleted out of our respect for the sensitivities of the Nigerian people,” he said, adding that what he described as an act of compassion was taken out of context.
“The opinion and perception of the people must always prevail,” he said.
Israel maintained that the presentation was not intended to flaunt wealth or disregard the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians. “The act was not to show flamboyance or disrespect the mood of the nation,” he said.
However, he declined to identify the people or organisations that provided the vehicles, leaving unanswered questions about the source and value of the donation.
The controversy began on Sunday when Israel, posted a video on X showing the vehicles, saying they were intended to support the beneficiaries’ election mobilisation activities.
In the deleted post, he wrote “Today, I presented brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities,” while thanking First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for her continued support for the party’s youth under his leadership.
He also declared that the APC would demonstrate its supremacy by delivering votes “polling unit by polling unit”.
However, the development took on a different dimension when the First Lady confirmed that her office donated campaign vehicles to the APC youth wing for grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections at the State House in Abuja.
In his conversation, Israel said the vehicles were neither purchased with public funds nor provided through government allocations.
“This was not an allocation from government or political leaders. There is no iota of taxpayers’ money or government allocation,” he claimed
Responding to concerns over the contrast between the First Lady’s appeal to women to pursue small businesses, including akara (bean cake) selling, and the donation of luxury SUVs amid economic hardship, Israel said her message was taken out of context.
“She has supported many entrepreneurs, tech startups. Her message about akara was for a particular demography, and she was clarifying that for those who wanted to go into that business, she was launching an intervention for them,” he said.
According to Israel, the vehicles were donated by individuals he described as well-meaning Nigerians who wanted to support the work of youth leaders in rural communities, noting that he could not disclose their identities.
“I do not have the liberty to reveal the identity of the donors,” he told The ICIR, adding that individuals and organisations regularly support youth development initiatives in cash and kind.
The position contradicts his earlier announcement and the First Lady’s meeting with APC youth leaders, during which she disclosed that she had handed over campaign vehicles donated to her office, alongside other campaign materials, for grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
When asked about the source of the vehicles and how the First Lady’s office was involved in the arrangement, Israel said he could not speak on her behalf.
“While I cannot speak for the First Lady’s Office, the First Lady is not involved in the purchase of the vehicle in any form or shape,” he stated.
Israel did not disclose the estimated value of the seven vehicles or provide documentation identifying the donors or detailing the donation arrangements.
Additional Information: ICR