“All I’m Begging Is That They Should Buy Buses” — Rufai Oseni Faults APC’s Prado Campaign Vehicles, Pushes Ambulance Conversion

Arise News anchor Rufai Oseni has appealed to the All Progressives Congress, APC, to consider purchasing buses that could later be converted into ambulances instead of spending large sums on luxury Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs for election mobilisation.

Oseni made the appeal amid continuing reactions to the distribution of brand-new 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs to selected APC youth leaders ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking in a video, Oseni questioned the priority placed on expensive campaign vehicles when Nigeria continues to face shortages of ambulances and other emergency medical facilities.

“Days ago, I saw a video of an APC campaign Prado worth over ₦45 million. All I’m begging is that they should buy buses so that they can convert them into ambulances after election,” Oseni said.

He argued that buses purchased for political mobilisation could continue serving a public purpose after the election by being converted into ambulances and deployed to assist Nigerians during medical emergencies.

His intervention adds to a growing debate over the distribution of seven brand-new 2026 Prado SUVs to selected APC youth leaders for election mobilisation.

The APC National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, had announced the presentation of the vehicles in a post on X.

“Today, I presented a brand new 2026 Prado to my committed selected youth leaders to aid their election mobilisation activities,” Israel wrote.

He also thanked First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu for what he described as her continued support for the party’s youth structure.

“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.

Israel later deleted .. after it generated widespread reactions online, although copies of the video and screenshots of the announcement had already circulated.

Subsequent reports said the First Lady confirmed donating SUVs to the APC National Youth Wing to support grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections. The exact amount paid for the vehicles has, however, not been publicly disclosed.

The controversy has largely centred on the cost of the vehicles and whether resources of that scale could have been deployed differently in a country where many citizens face economic and healthcare challenges.

According to advertised prices from Toyota’s authorised distributor in Nigeria cited in the report, the 2.4-litre turbo-petrol Adventure version of the 2026 Land Cruiser Prado was listed at about ₦160 million, while the Premium version was listed at about ₦190 million.

On that benchmark, seven Adventure models would have an estimated retail value of about ₦1.12 billion, while seven Premium versions could amount to about ₦1.33 billion.

The exact specifications of the seven SUVs have not been independently established, however, and the advertised figures do not constitute evidence of the amount actually paid for the vehicles.

The distinction is important because no publicly available invoice has established the actual acquisition cost.

Oseni’s argument focused instead on what he described as a more sustainable use of vehicles acquired for campaign purposes.

Rather than purchasing vehicles whose primary purpose is electoral mobilisation, he suggested that buses could be bought for campaign activities and subsequently converted for emergency medical use once the elections were over.

His remarks echo concerns raised by other Nigerians who have questioned the availability of ambulances and emergency healthcare facilities while expensive vehicles are deployed for political activities.

The debate has also focused on what the estimated ₦1.12 billion value of seven Adventure-specification Prados could represent if channelled into other programmes.

At ₦100,000 each, ₦1.12 billion could theoretically fund 11,200 grants for young Nigerians seeking to establish small businesses.

At ₦1 million each, the same amount could represent 1,120 larger business-support grants.

Using Nigeria’s ₦70,000 national minimum wage as another benchmark, ₦1.12 billion is equivalent to 16,000 monthly wage payments.

Those comparisons are illustrative and do not mean that the money would automatically create sustainable businesses or employment if spent differently. Effective empowerment programmes would also require training, monitoring, access to markets and other support systems.

Supporters of campaign logistics could also argue that political parties require reliable transportation to coordinate rallies, reach communities and organise election activities across wide geographical areas.

The controversy, however, has increasingly focused on whether such spending should be accompanied by comparable investment in programmes that directly affect young Nigerians outside political party structures.

ADC chieftain Samuel Ede criticised the development, arguing that the distribution raised questions about political priorities at a time many Nigerians were dealing with unemployment, hunger and rising living costs.

“At a time when millions of Nigerians are battling hunger, unemployment and rising living costs, the APC is preparing for 2027 with seven luxury SUVs worth an estimated ₦1.12 billion. This raises serious questions about the party’s priorities. Nigerian youths need jobs, opportunities and economic relief, not just political mobilisation ahead of elections,” Ede said.

Political analyst Sunday Tukur also questioned what the vehicles would achieve beyond campaign mobilisation.

“The question Nigerians should be asking is what seven Prados worth an estimated ₦1.12 billion will achieve beyond electoral mobilisation. That amount could support meaningful youth empowerment initiatives if properly invested. Political parties have a right to organise for elections, but the contrast between luxury campaign spending and the economic hardship facing ordinary Nigerians deserves serious scrutiny,” he said.

Other Nigerians commenting online similarly contrasted the Prado distribution with conditions in hospitals and other public institutions.

Some questioned why expensive SUVs were being deployed for campaign mobilisation when many health facilities struggle with inadequate equipment and emergency transportation.

One commentator said that on first seeing the vehicles, he had thought they might be ambulances intended for a federal medical centre.

Another questioned how many primary healthcare facilities or ambulances could potentially be supported with resources equivalent to the estimated value of the SUVs.

Kayode Ogundamisi also criticised the optics of the presentation, arguing that the display of luxury vehicles came at a difficult time for Nigerians dealing with economic hardship.

Professor Pat Utomi separately joined criticism of the vehicle distribution, questioning how many high-quality ambulances could be purchased with the amount represented by the SUVs. His intervention similarly framed the controversy around the opportunity cost of political spending and the country’s healthcare needs.

The Prado controversy has therefore expanded beyond the question of campaign transportation into a wider debate over political priorities, youth empowerment and healthcare infrastructure.

While the vehicles were presented specifically to assist selected APC youth leaders with election mobilisation, critics including Oseni have argued that political spending should, where possible, produce benefits that remain useful to Nigerians after election campaigns have ended.

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