Amid deepening economic despair, the All Progressives Congress is showering its members with expensive gifts, seemingly oblivious to the hardship facing millions of Nigerians.
Barely a day after President Bola Tinubu used the launch of his re-election campaign in Kaduna to blame the opposition for hunger and poverty in the country, the party’s National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, posted a video showing the presentation of seven brand-new Toyota Prado SUVs, reportedly worth over N1 billion, to selected APC youth leaders “to aid election mobilisation.” The spectacle is insensitive, especially when millions can barely afford food, transport, and other necessities.
Each SUV was estimated to cost about N150 million, with Israel thanking the President’s wife, Oluremi Tinubu, for her “support.” Though the video was subsequently deleted, the damage was done.
Nigerians had seen enough to question the propriety of such extravagant largesse by a ruling party presiding over a population struggling to survive. Calls have since mounted for full disclosure of the circumstances and financing of the vehicle donations.
The spectacle exposes the widening gulf between the political class and the people it governs. While frightening poverty statistics point to a steady erosion of living standards, those in power carry on as though the country is enjoying an economic boom. It is not.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported in its November 2021 to February 2022 survey that 133 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the population, were multidimensionally poor. The World Bank’s April 2026 Nigeria Development Update estimated that 140 million Nigerians live below the poverty line. The same report indicated that 33 per cent were ultra-poor and food-insecure, while 79 per cent were either poor or vulnerable to falling back into poverty.
PwC Nigeria’s Economic Outlook 2026 projected that 141 million people, or 62 per cent of the population, would be living in poverty this year.
Similarly, the IMF’s 2026 Article IV assessment reported that 27 million Nigerians faced severe food insecurity, driven by high transport costs, food prices and supply-chain disruptions. These figures may employ different methodologies and poverty thresholds, but they tell a common story: economic distress remains widespread.
Yet, the Tinubu administration continues to celebrate macroeconomic improvements while the material conditions of ordinary Nigerians remain punishing. There is a troubling disconnect between the government’s economic scorecards and the daily experience of households struggling to make ends meet.
Much of the hardship is traceable to the administration’s abrupt removal of petrol subsidies on inauguration day in May 2023. Petrol, which sold for about N187 per litre, quickly surged to around N600. It now sells for approximately N1,350, although subsequent global market developments, including the disruption caused by the United States’ war with Iran, have also contributed to the price escalation.
Two weeks after announcing that the subsidy was gone, Tinubu floated the naira, triggering another round of economic dislocation.
In 2024, the government also withdrew electricity subsidies for Band A consumers, pushing their tariff to about N208 per kilowatt-hour.
To be fair, the economy has recorded some improvements. Foreign reserves have risen, government revenues have increased, crude oil production has shown signs of recovery, and infrastructure development has received greater attention.
But these gains must be weighed against the crushing burden of debt servicing, mounting public borrowing and the failure to translate macroeconomic stabilisation into meaningful relief for ordinary Nigerians.
It is against this backdrop that the APC’s SUV largesse becomes particularly indefensible. As the 2027 elections approach, political support groups are already announcing donations of vehicles, buses and other resources to party structures. The scale of these gifts raises fundamental questions about campaign financing, the sources of political money and compliance with electoral laws.
Unfortunately, the Electoral Act does not provide a sufficiently robust framework for dealing with the opaque financial practices that accompany Nigeria’s expensive politics. The law places a N500 million ceiling on donations from a single source.
If the reported value and circumstances of the APC donations are established, the party must explain who provided the vehicles, whether the gifts constitute campaign contributions and how they comply with the statutory limits.
Section 90 of the Electoral Act requires political parties to disclose funds received through donations, levies, dues and other contributions.
However, its provision that donations below N100 million need not be disclosed creates an extraordinary transparency gap. A donor can contribute N99 million without public disclosure, even though such an amount is enough to finance substantial political operations.
This threshold makes it difficult to trace the money behind the increasingly lavish mobilisation machinery of political parties.
The problem extends beyond the APC. Electioneering in Nigeria has become an expensive enterprise, with political parties and their candidates deploying enormous financial resources to secure influence and electoral advantage.
The statutory limits and disclosure requirements must therefore reflect the realities of contemporary campaign spending rather than provide convenient cover for opaque transactions.
Politicians must understand that public office is not a licence for conspicuous consumption, particularly when the population they seek to govern is bearing the cost of economic adjustment.
There is something deeply troubling about a political party asking citizens to endure sacrifice while its operatives receive luxury vehicles in the name of election mobilisation.
The issue is not simply whether the APC can afford seven Prados, but whether the money behind them is legitimate, properly declared and consistent with the law.
The Electoral Act must be urgently reviewed to close the disclosure loophole, strengthen enforcement and ensure that all substantial political contributions are traceable.
Donations should not disappear into anonymity simply because they fall below an arbitrary threshold. The sources of campaign funds, including gifts in kind such as vehicles and buses, must be declared and properly valued.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission must also demonstrate that they are prepared to scrutinise political financing without fear or favour.
They owe Nigerians answers about the sources of these funds and whether the reported donations comply with the law.
Ultimately, the APC cannot preach economic sacrifice to Nigerians while presiding over a culture of political extravagance. Seven luxury SUVs may help mobilise party loyalists, but they will do nothing to mobilise a country out of poverty.
And until political parties learn that public money and political donations demand transparency, the country’s democracy will remain vulnerable to the corrosive influence of money and privilege.
[PUNCH]
