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A Delta State–based rights activist, Comrade Victor Ojei of Wong Box Nigeria, has launched a scathing attack on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori over the presentation of 65 Toyota Prado SUVs to selected traditional rulers, describing the move as a flashy public relations stunt that exposes misplaced priorities in the state.

In a statement issued in Asaba, Ojei said the luxury vehicles may look impressive on camera but amount to a long-term burden for the very monarchs they were meant to honour, especially those in rural and riverine communities.

According to him, the real cost of owning and maintaining a Toyota Prado is prohibitive. He noted that routine servicing and engine oil changes alone cost between ₦85,000 and ₦120,000, while shock absorbers range from ₦150,000 to ₦450,000. Tyres, he added, cost between ₦120,000 and ₦200,000 per unit, excluding fuel, brakes, air-conditioning repairs, insurance and annual registration, expenses that collectively run into hundreds of thousands of naira each year.

Ojei argued that for monarchs in riverine and hard-to-reach communities such as Ojobo, Ogulagha, Oporoza, Akugbene and Obotebe, the SUVs are largely impractical. He pointed out that many of these areas lack motorable roads, particularly in Delta South where creeks and tributaries dominate the terrain.

“A vehicle that cannot reach a monarch’s palace becomes a burden, not a benefit,” Ojei declared.

He maintained that the funds deployed on luxury SUVs could have been better channelled into pressing developmental needs such as bridges, potable water schemes, functional health centres or mass transportation infrastructure that would have a direct and lasting impact on local communities.

Instead, he said, the government’s action has imposed maintenance pressure on traditional rulers, encouraged social stigma and discrimination, and underscored what he described as a troubling preference for optics over substance.

Ojei concluded that genuine governance and development are not measured by the distribution of expensive gifts, but by deliberate investments that improve the daily lives of the people and address Delta State’s long-standing infrastructural deficits.