‘Display of executive recklessness’: Atiku knocks Tinubu over SUV gifts to APC youth leaders

Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to explain the reported distribution of 2026 model luxury SUVs to All Progressives Congress (APC) youth leaders.

Atiku, who demanded full disclosure of how the vehicles were financed, described the reported gifts as inappropriate at a time millions of Nigerians were struggling with high food prices, transport costs and worsening economic conditions.

The former vice president, in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, said reports that the vehicles, each valued at over N150 million, were donated by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu raised questions that required public clarification.

Atiku noted that Nigerians deserve to know whether the SUVs were purchased with personal funds, donations or public resources.

Atiku stated: “The APC National Youth Leader says these vehicles were donated by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu. Nigerians deserve to know where the money came from to buy and distribute so many 2026 model SUVs, each worth more than ₦150 million, for political mobilisation.

“The First Lady holds no elected or executive office. She is only a domestic appendage of the office of President. Were these vehicles bought with her personal funds, donations or public resources? Who paid for them? What was the total cost? The Presidency must provide a clear account. Nigerians cannot be expected to accept a fleet of extraordinarily expensive vehicles for party loyalists without knowing who financed them.”

The ADC candidate said the distribution reflected misplaced priorities, stressing that the government should focus on easing the hardship faced by ordinary citizens rather than what he described as lavish political spending.

“At a time families cannot afford food, transport and other basic necessities, these gifts are a brazen insult to the people. The government has found a way to provide luxury SUVs for APC youth leaders, yet millions of Nigerians are still waiting for meaningful relief from the cost of living crisis. This is not merely a question of misplaced priorities. It is one of the most outlandish displays of executive recklessness in our history,” he said.

Atiku also questioned the utilisation of savings from the removal of petrol subsidy, urging the federal government to be transparent about its expenditure.

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Atiku further alleged that the reported gifts, alongside earlier claims of vehicle donations to APC women leaders, created the impression that public resources were being deployed for political purposes.

The former vice president said: “While Nigerians continue to ask where the savings from subsidy removal have gone, the Presidency must explain how such costly gifts are being funded. If the vehicles were paid for privately, the source of the funds should be disclosed. If public resources were used, the government must identify who authorised the spending and under what legal authority.

“The scale of these gifts raises grave questions about whether our collective patrimony is being diverted to buy political loyalty. Nigeria cannot be run as a captured state, where wealth and influence serve the powerful while ordinary citizens are left to struggle.”

Atiku urged the Presidency to respond to the allegations and provide details of the source of funding for the vehicles.

Atiku noted: “The same youth leader who made the gifts public is reportedly travelling by private jet. That image of extraordinary privilege stands in jarring contrast to the hardship facing ordinary Nigerians. The Presidency must stop treating questions about wealth and spending as an inconvenience. Nigerians have a right to ask where the money came from.

“Nor is this culture of privilege confined to party officials; it reaches the very household of the President. His own son, Mr Seyi Tinubu, has been pictured, in widely circulated images, wearing a Richard Mille RM 67-02 Sébastien Ogier, a timepiece that sells for close to half a million dollars ($500k), while the same government asks ordinary Nigerians to endure hardship, tighten their belts and wait patiently for relief that never seems to arrive.”