‘Nigerian treasury is not APC’s campaign purse’ — Paul Ibe questions Prado SUVs for supporters

Paul Ibe, the media aide to Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress, has questioned the African People's Congress (APC) regarding the provision of seven newly acquired Toyota Prado SUVs to youth leaders for election campaigning. Ibe took to X after the APC's National Youth Leader, Dayo Israel, announced that he had given the vehicles to selected youth leaders and expressed gratitude to First Lady Oluremi Tinubu for her support.

Israel claimed that the SUVs would assist in election mobilisation, stating that the party would transport polling units one by one. However, Ibe demanded that the First Lady, Israel, and the APC disclose the source of the funds, the identities of the beneficiaries, and clarify whether public assets or funds were utilized for the distribution.

He also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the funding arrangements and ascertain if they adhere to campaign finance laws. Ibe emphasized that the Nigerian treasury is not the APC's campaign fund and that the Presidency should not function as the ruling party's financial mechanism for elections.

He added that deleting the post would not silence the calls for accountability, asserting that "deleting the post cannot delete the demand for accountability."