The recruits wore green shirts, a color commonly associated with APC mobilization drives, and were organized to publicly demonstrate support for the president, according to the videos, which have been widely shared across Nigerian social media platforms. The footage showed participants in coordinated groups, suggesting the event had been planned and staffed in advance rather than drawing spontaneous public attendance.
Participants in the videos expressed bitterness over the pay. Several of those filmed said they had spent a full day at the event and considered ₦1,500 an insufficient return for their time and effort under present economic conditions.
The practice of paying people to fill political crowds is not new to Nigeria. Parties across the political spectrum have historically offered between ₦500 and ₦5,000 per person to individuals, typically unemployed, to attend rallies and create an impression of popular support.
₦1,500, at current exchange rates, represents less than one dollar. For many of those recruited, the sum falls far below what would cover a day’s basic expenses in most Nigerian cities, where food inflation has pushed costs significantly higher.
Reactions online divided sharply between sympathy and criticism. Some users said the individuals who showed up deserved understanding, given the absence of stable employment, and that taking any available pay was a rational response to economic hardship.
Others were more pointed in their criticism of the party itself. The arrangement, they said, reflected an exploitative relationship between political organizations and unemployed Nigerians who have few alternatives when fast cash is offered.
The APC did not respond publicly to the videos at the time they circulated. No party official was recorded in the footage addressing either the pay rate or the manner in which the crowd was assembled.
Crowd-filling as a political tool has persisted across administrations and parties in Nigeria. The going rate, according to the source material, has ranged from ₦500 to ₦5,000 depending on the event, the party, and the region where the rally takes place.
At ₦1,500, the payment in the circulating videos sits toward the lower end of that range. Participants in the footage appeared unaware before the event that the pay would be this low, which accounts for much of the visible frustration captured on camera.
The videos add to a broader conversation about unemployment and political accountability in Nigeria. Critics have long argued that the availability of people willing to work for such amounts reflects a jobs crisis that political parties benefit from rather than address.
None of the individuals filmed gave their full names in the videos, and the specific location and date of the rally were not confirmed in the source material. The videos were, however, described as authentic depictions of APC-organized crowd activity in support of Tinubu.
Online commentary since the videos surfaced has consistently returned to two points: that those who showed up needed the money and that the party offering ₦1,500 for a full day of political work was aware of that need and priced accordingly.
The APC has made no public comment on the viral footage. No government spokesperson addressed the matter in the period covered by the source material.
The ₦1,500 daily pay rate for hired APC supporters has become a reference point in ongoing discussions about how political parties in Nigeria recruit and compensate crowds ahead of the 2027 general elections. The figure is now being cited alongside wider debates about the cost of living under the Tinubu administration and whether the conditions driving Nigerians to accept such payments have worsened since the removal of the fuel subsidy in 2023.
