Key Takeaways
- APC Deputy, Zonal and Senatorial Youth Leaders have passed vote of confidence in National Youth Leader Dayo Israel after he trended for gifting 2026 Prado SUVs to youth leaders.
- Leaders commended his youth empowerment initiatives, vehicle distribution and grassroots mobilisation, urging stakeholders to close ranks and reject divisive politics.
- Dayo Israel responded on X: “Our focus is on President’s re-election. Winning hearts and minds. No distraction allowed. Ko Gezau.”
It was a weekend of Prado and pain for Dayo Israel. By Monday, he got backing.
On Sunday, the APC National Youth Leader trended for the wrong reason — video of at least seven brand new 2026 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado SUVs, which he said were presented to selected youth leaders to aid election mobilisation for 2027. Nigerians called it tone-deaf, NDC estimated N1.015 billion for seven vehicles, X was on fire with “hunger in land, Prado for loyalists.”
Now, the youth structure is closing ranks.
According to the breaking statement shared this morning, APC Deputy, Zonal and Senatorial Youth Leaders have passed a vote of confidence in Dayo Israel, commending his youth empowerment initiatives, vehicle distribution and grassroots mobilisation efforts. The leaders urged party stakeholders to close ranks, reject divisive politics and unite behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
BREAKING: APC Youth Leaders Across All 36 States and the FCT Pass No-Confidence Vote on National Youth Leader Dayo Israel pic.twitter.com/UClGNSwgzz
— Habibu Bello Mayana (@HBMayana_) October 27, 2026
This is significant. Because just two years ago, the same structure turned against him.
In February 2024, APC senatorial youth leaders passed a vote of no confidence in Dayo Israel amid protests over biting hardship, accusing him of pursuing narrow interest and making himself inaccessible, sidelining APC youths. In 2023, state youth leaders from over 30 states snubbed him to rally behind a candidate endorsed by Seyi Tinubu for Youth Minister. The youth wing has always been factional.
This new vote of confidence flips that narrative. Deputy youth leaders, zonal youth leaders (South-West, South-East, North-Central etc), and senatorial youth leaders — the real foot soldiers who knock on doors in wards — saying: we stand with Dayo.
Why now? Because the Prado backlash threatened to become an internal crisis. The opposition NDC had already slammed APC over N1bn SUVs, and even some APC youth on X said: “You can’t gift Prado when our members can’t afford fuel to attend meetings.” A vote of no confidence 48 hours after backlash would have been fatal. A vote of confidence is damage control.
One user on X wrote, “APC youth leaders passing vote of confidence on Dayo after Prado gift? Of course they will — dem collect Prado, dem go talk. Na politics.”
Reacting, @APCYouth4Tinubu said, “Dayo Israel has done more empowerment than any youth leader before. Vehicles for mobilisation is normal. Focus is 2027.”
Another, @ProgressiveYouthNG, added, “No distraction allowed. Ko Gezau — we move. Tinubu 2027 is the goal, not Prado argument.”
That last line — Ko Gezau — is what Dayo Israel himself posted on X in response.
“Our focus is on the President’s re-election. Winning hearts and minds of the Nigerian people. No distraction allowed. Ko Gezau.”
Our focus is on the President’s re-election. Winning hearts and minds of the Nigerian people. No distraction allowed. Ko Gezau https://t.co/qqLNhcrqmE
— The Dayo Israel™ (@dayoisrael) October 27, 2026
Ko Gezau is Hausa for “No shaking, we move forward” — a street slogan that has become his closing line whenever under fire.
Linking to earlier scenario — this comes a day after Tinubu himself was in Kaduna at Ranchers Bees Stadium saying “Who created hunger and poverty? They did!” and promising children prosperity in second term. Dayo’s Prado gift and subsequent vote of confidence is the operational arm of that speech — mobilisation vehicles for youth leaders who will sell that message in villages. It also comes after Tinubu’s campaign flag-off where he praised APC governors for paying salaries and developing states.
