UTOMI: SOLDIERS PAID PEANUTS WHILE APC YOUTH LEADER FLAUNTS SUVS

Professor Pat Utomi has criticised the All Progressives Congress over the distribution of luxury sport utility vehicles to selected party youth leaders, contrasting the expenditure with what he described as the poor salaries paid to Nigerian soldiers.

The criticism was posted on X on Sunday, following a video by APC National Youth Leader Dayo Israel showing brand-new 2026 Toyota Prado SUVs presented to youth leaders for election mobilisation, ValidViewNetwork reports.

THE CRITICISM

Utomi, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, was unequivocal.

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

“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!”.

He also questioned whether the money spent on the vehicles could have been used to improve healthcare services.

“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 CONTEXT

The criticism followed a video posted by Israel, showing the vehicles 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.

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He also thanked First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for 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 was later deleted, but the criticism had already begun .

THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

The report does not establish the source of funding for the vehicles or whether public funds were used to purchase them.

The cost of the reported fleet and the circumstances surrounding its acquisition therefore remain central questions in the controversy .

WHY IT MATTERS

Utomi’s intervention adds a prominent voice to the growing criticism of the APC’s spending priorities.

The contrast he draws is stark: soldiers who risk their lives for the country are paid what he describes as peanuts, while party youth leaders receive SUVs worth over ₦100 million each.

For the APC, the controversy is a distraction at a time when the party is trying to project unity and strength ahead of the 2027 campaign.

For the opposition, it is evidence of a government that has lost touch with the realities of ordinary Nigerians.The SUVs have been distributed. The questions remain. ValidViewNetwork reports.